Back to Suarez…
Loved how it seemed the managerial staff and teammates were thrilled for Albert. Several spoke of how impressed they were of him as a person, making a positive impression during the Spring on how appreciative and humble Albert was for another shot at MLB opportunity. Gotta root for guys like him.
His combo of 96mph velocity and horizontal riding movement on the fastball was fun to watch yesterday. While he did sprinkle in a curveball and changeup, he was 63% 4 seamer and 23% cutter yesterday. Can that basically 2 pitch mix play as SP over the long-term? Even if doesn’t stick as a SP, feels like Suarez could be a factor in the BP, whether MIRP or leverage SIRP.
He’s a bit of unique case, with only 1yr MLB service time and long INTL gap. So how does his service time factor for future years? Essentially arb/pre-arb meaning the O’s retain rights for several more years?