Robert Alexander Suárez Subero (born March 1, 1991) is a Venezuelan professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. Founded on February 22, 1938, as the Nankai Club, being the first Kansai t ...

and

Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to their main stadium, Hanshin Koshien Stadium. The Tigers are owned by Hanshin Electric Railway Co., ...

Career

Saraperos de Saltillo

On April 16, 2015, Suárez signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. In 43 games for Saltillo, Suárez logged a 5–0

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

and 1.71

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) with 48

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

On November 2, 2015, Suarez signed with the

(NPB) . On April 10, 2016, Suarez made his NPB debut. In 2016, he finished the regular season with a 2–6 record, a 3.19 ERA, 64 strikeouts, 26 holds, and one save in 53 2/3 innings. On February 8, 2017, Suarez was selected to the

Venezuela national baseball team The Venezuela national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Venezuela'' or ''Selección de Venezuela)'' is the national team of Venezuela. It is currently ranked third in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, b ...

for the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts wer ...

. On March 12, he injured his right elbow in a game against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. He had

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

on April 14. On August 11, 2018, Suarez pitched in the

Pacific League The , or , or the , due to sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the a ...

against the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the major ...

for the first time in two years. He finished the regular season with 11 games pitched, a 1–1 win–loss record, a 6.30 ERA, 3 holds, and 10 strikeouts in 10 innings. Suarez finished the 2019 regular season with 9 Games pitched, a 0–4 Win–loss record, a 5.74ERA, and 27 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings. He pitched in the 2019 Japan Series. On November 28, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks announced that the team would not re-sign Suárez for next season. On December 2, 2019, he became a free agent.

Hanshin Tigers

On December 19, 2019, Suárez signed with the

of the NPB. In 2020, Suárez pitched to a 2.24 ERA over 52.1 innings. On December 2, 2020, he became a free agent. On December 24, Suárez re-signed with the Tigers. On June 13, 2021, Suárez set a Hanshin club record by recording a save in his 12th consecutive mound appearance, breaking the previous record of 11 held by former Tigers pitcher Kyuji Fujikawa. On June 30, Suárez’s streak ended when he came in to pitch in a tie game, with the new record being set at 14 consecutive mound appearances with a save.

San Diego Padres

On December 1, 2021, Suárez signed a one-year contract with a 2023 player option with the

. On April 7, 2022, Suárez made his major league debut against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

, walking the first two batters he faced on a combined nine pitches before throwing a wild pitch, and then hitting a batter. Suárez was removed from the game without having recorded an out. All three runners he allowed later scored, earning him the loss. On July 12, Suárez was placed on the 60-day injured list after undergoing knee surgery to remove "loose impediments" the month prior. He was activated on August 6. On November 7, Suárez opted out of his contract and became a free agent. On November 17, 2022, the Padres signed Suárez to a 5-year, $46 million contract. After suffering from arm stiffness and right elbow inflammation during

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

, Suárez began the 2023 season on the injured list. He was transferred to the 60–day injured list on April 20, 2023. Suárez was activated on July 20. On August 23, Suárez was ejected for a sticky substance following a glove check, and received a 10–day suspension, which he unsuccessfully appealed. He finished the 2023 season with a 4–3 record and a 4.23 ERA with 24 strikeouts. In the 2024 season, Suárez ended with a 9–3 record and a 2.77 ERA with 36 saves and 59 strikeouts. On May 2, 2025, he was rewarded the National League

Major League Baseball Reliever of the Year Award Major League Baseball (MLB) annually honors its best relief pitchers in the American League (AL) and National League (NL) with the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year Award and Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year Award, respectively. The aw ...

for April and the second time in his career as he leads the Majors with 12 saves, striking out 16 batters, and has a 0.57 WHIP across his 14 appearances, during which he's pitched to a 0.64 ERA. And, he's held opposing batters to a .106 average. Suárez was suspended for two games and fined an undisclosed amount for intentionally hitting batter

Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese professional baseball designated hitter and pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Shotime", he has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels and in Nippon Professional Basebal ...

with a pitch on June 19, 2025, during a game against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Personal life

His brother, Albert Suárez, is also a pitcher in MLB.

References

External links

NPB stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suarez, Robert 1991 births Living people El Paso Chihuahuas players Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Hanshin Tigers players San Diego Padres players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Saraperos de Saltillo players Arizona Complex League Padres players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Japan Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela 2017 World Baseball Classic players Baseball players from Bolívar (state)