Edwin Diaz came off the market on Tuesday when he signed a three-year deal with the Dodgers earlier today. Now that both he and Devin Williams are off the board, veteran right-hander Robert Suarez stands as the clear top option available on the market for closers this winter. It didn’t take long after Diaz’s deal was reported for MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand to report that Suarez’s market was starting to gain traction. Feinsand highlighted the Mets, Blue Jays, and Braves as the “most aggressive suitors” for the righty’s services. New York and Toronto have both been connected to Suarez already this winter, but Atlanta is a newly-reported suitor. Meanwhile, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR throws the Cubs’ name into the mix as well, reporting that Chicago is exploring the closer market and adding that Suarez is “one of the ideal candidates” for the club.
Suarez, 35 in March, has been an All-Star in back-to-back seasons. He’s sporting a 2.87 ERA and 3.17 FIP with 76 saves in 134 2/3 innings of work across those two campaigns. This year, he struck out 27.9% of his opponents with a 5.9% walk rate, giving him a 21.9% K-BB ratio that ranked 26th among qualified relievers this year. Those excellent numbers are enough to make him one of the league’s top relievers, although the right-hander’s age and imperfect track record (including a middling 2023 season where injury limited him to just 26 appearances) figure to limit the length of his contract somewhat. MLBTR predicted Suarez for a three-year, $48MM deal as the #21 free agent on our Top 50 MLB Free Agents list for the offseason.
That would be a hefty sum for a team like the Braves to pay for a closer when they already have longtime closer Raisel Iglesias in the fold, particularly when Atlanta is also in the market for help at shortstop and in the rotation. With that said, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time the club committed significant dollars to their bullpen. Iglesias, Joe Jimenez and Aaron Bummer are both on significant contracts already, and players like Pierce Johnson and Will Smith have been guaranteed significant dollars by Atlanta in the past.
The Cubs seem like a much clearer fit for Suarez, at least on paper. They’ve lost Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar, and Andrew Kittedge from their bullpen this offseason. While they signed Phil Maton last month and Daniel Palencia remains a viable closing option, that’s still a lot of talent to lose from the late-inning relief mix. That makes it unsurprising that Chicago would be in the mix for a player like Suarez, although it’s worth noting that the Cubs have typically shied away from large multi-year commitments to relievers. Maton’s two-year deal is actually the first multi-year guarantee the team has signed a reliever to since Craig Kimbrel back in 2019, but a deal for Suarez would be on another level entirely; his annual salary would surely rival the $14.5MM total guarantee Maton landed.
The Mets and Blue Jays remain as perhaps the most obvious fits for the righty. While New York did bring Williams into the fold, they remained in on Diaz even after that signing. Now that Diaz has settled on Los Angeles, the Mets pivoting towards Suarez to strengthen the back of their bullpen is easy to understand, particularly after Williams delivered inconsistent results in the ninth inning as a member of the Yankees last year. The Jays, meanwhile, have long been known to be in the market for another high leverage reliever to pair with Jeff Hoffman in the late innings.
The number of quality closers on the market is dropping quickly, and if Toronto is hoping to add a high-end reliever with closing experience Suarez is undoubtedly the top option at this point. Keller and Tyler Rogers are alternative impact options still available who lack that ninth inning track record, while closers like Pete Fairbanks and Luke Weaver are still available but are coming off far less impressive seasons than the one Suarez just delivered in San Diego. The Marlins and White Sox are among the other teams known to be involved in the closing market this winter, though it would be a surprise to see either spend aggressively enough to land someone of Suarez’s caliber.