After a down season in 2025, the Atlanta Braves are aggressively rebuilding for 2026. One aggressive move after another has made it clear they’re pushing to reclaim control of the National League, and Thursday’s addition only sharpened that message.
The Braves reached an agreement with former Padres closer Robert Suarez on a three-year, $45 million deal, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Suarez, 34, hit the market after opting out of the final two years of his deal in San Diego and brings elite late-inning stuff to Atlanta. He posted a 2.53 ERA with 123 strikeouts over the last two seasons, anchoring the Padres’ bullpen with a high-octane fastball and durability that made him one of the winter’s top relief targets. He was the National League's saves leader in 2025.
But for Atlanta, Suarez is just one chapter in a larger push.
The Braves already re-signed right-hander Raisel Iglesias, keeping their ninth inning intact, and added veteran outfielder Mike Yastrzemski to deepen a lineup that needed more left-handed balance and on-base stability. Layering Suarez onto a bullpen that now returns its closer and adds another swing-and-miss arm gives Atlanta one of the most imposing late-game groups in the league.
The NL East has shifted all winter, but this stretch of Braves activity makes their priorities unmistakable: shorten games, strengthen depth, and build a roster that can take the postseason punch-for-punch. Suarez gives them more power, more structure, and more October confidence — the kind of move that only teams planning to play deep into the fall are making right now.
