Blue Jays: Strikeout type free agent relievers to pursue this offseason

Robert Suarez – RHP

An intriguing arm to watch this offseason is right-hander Robert Suarez, as the San Diego Padres relief pitcher had an incredible season, authoring a 2.27 ERA through 47.2 innings of work with a 166 ERA+ and an 11.5 K/9 on the year.

What makes Suarez so interesting is that he kind of came out of nowhere, spending the previous five seasons overseas with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and the Hanshin Tigers in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league in Japan. While playing in the NPB, Suarez earned a collective 2.81 ERA through 205.0 innings while also amassing 68 saves to the tune of a 1.161 WHIP and a 9.2 K/9.

The Venezuelan product signed a deal with the Padres last offseason that includes a $5 million player option for the 2023 campaign, which we don’t know whether he will accept or decline at this time. Should he decline the option, he will likely have a long list of suitors and Spotrac currently has him at a $6.5 million market value heading into this offseason.

Considered by some to be an unsung hero for the Padres this year, Suarez did miss some time due to knee issues but still made 45 appearances this year. With a fastball and sinker sitting in the high 90s with a changeup, cutter, and curveball to boot, signing Suarez does check quite a few boxes for the Blue Jays should he become available this winter.