Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss had an update on set-up man Robert Suarez.
The Atlanta Braves have been missing one of their biggest bullpen pieces since late June. Right-hander Robert Suarez has not pitched for the club since June 19 due to right forearm tightness and inflammation.
While an MRI was immediately encouraging, ruling out the need for surgery, Suarez still struggled to make any meaningful progress for weeks.
He finally started throwing again in August, yet time is not on his side as he works to get back into the bullpen before the regular season comes to an end.
Manager Walt Weiss spoke with reporters during the team's current three-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers and provided an update on Suarez's condition.
Weiss revealed that the next step for Suarez will be to throw a bullpen session, with a rehab assignment to follow after that. Weiss continued to reiterate that Suarez is still moving slowly, according to Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Before the injury, Suarez had lived up to expectations. He signed this past offseason on a three-year, $45 million deal to join the Braves. He knew coming in that he would not be the closer given Atlanta had already re-signed Raisel Iglesias.
It was genuinely unexpected that a pitcher who led the entire National League in saves with the Padres in 2025 with 40 would be willing to slide into a set-up role. However, Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos wanted to make sure the bullpen was a strength.
Suarez has still found himself in save situations this year simply because of how dominant he was, converting four of five save attempts during the stretch when he was healthy.
Back when he was on the mound, the 35-year-old veteran looked well on his way to a third straight All-Star selection. Across 32 innings of work he allowed just two total earned runs, collected 26 strikeouts and issued just six walks. Those are elite numbers.
The hope is that when Suarez returns he will pick up right where he left off. Since he has been unavailable, Atlanta has struggled to find reliable options capable of handling high-leverage spots consistently.
Given that he is a relief pitcher rather than a starter, Suarez may not need weeks to ramp back up to full speed before he is eligible to return. The Braves will undoubtedly be heading to October baseball this year barring a massive collapse, and Suarez is still doing everything he can to be a part of it.
