The Atlanta Braves are still awaiting the return of Robert Suarez.
The Atlanta Braves are looking to head into October as close to full strength as possible. With the postseason nearly set, the club confirmed the next step in Robert Suarez’s long road back, via Harrison Smajovits of Braves on SI. Their dominant reliever is finally close to returning.
Suarez is set to make a minor-league rehab appearance with Triple-A Gwinnett this weekend. It will be his first game action since June. Manager Walt Weiss has stayed cautious about the exact timeline of his return to the Braves.
The Braves will reevaluate Suarez after the outing. From there, he could rejoin the bullpen for the final week of the regular season. A first appearance straight in the postseason also remains on the table.
That patience reflects how long this recovery has taken. Suarez has spent most of 2026 sidelined. What first surfaced as forearm tightness in late June was later diagnosed as right elbow inflammation.
His last major league appearance came on June 19. The Braves placed him on the 15-day injured list days later, then shifted him to the 60-day list on September 1 to open a roster spot. In total, he has missed over three months.
His absence has stung because Suarez was nearly untouchable before it. Across 31 outings, he owned a microscopic 0.56 ERA and 0.844 WHIP. He went 4-0 with four saves and 26 strikeouts over 32 innings, giving Atlanta arguably its best bullpen arm. His absence forced the team to piece together the back of the bullpen for months.
Suarez did not debut in the majors until 2022, at age 31, with the San Diego Padres. Before that, he pitched for a year in Mexico. He then spent five seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
Once he reached San Diego, he did not look back. Suarez emerged as the Padres’ closer and earned back-to-back All-Star selections in 2024 and 2025, saving 36 and 40 games. That track record landed him a three-year, $45 million deal with Atlanta last winter.
A healthy version of his arm would be a major addition to the bullpen. At 91-64, the Braves sit on top in the National League East with about a week left in the regular season. Getting Suarez back would give Weiss another proven option aside Raisel Iglesias and Didier Fuentes. The rehab outing is the first real test of whether that plan comes together in time.
