The San Diego Padres, currently, hold down third place in the NL West. As the continue to hover right around the .500 mark on the season, they’ve surely found their highs and lows during the 2024 season. One of those highs comes in the form of their closer.
Robert Suarez has been electric during his 2024 campaign. Pitching to a 0.73 ERA across 24.2 innings pitched, all while compiling a 0.69 WHIP. On top of his impressive stats, Suarez is also 16/16 on save opportunities. The Padres have won 25 consecutive games when he has pitched, dating back to last season.
Suarez, 33, signed a five-year, $46 million contract in November of 2022. When Josh Hader skipped town for Houston, the door opened wide for Suarez to take over that role.
Padres manager Mike Shildt had this to say on Suarez..
"He is a guy that has the stuff to pitch at the back end of games," Shildt said. "I love his heartbeat for it. ... He's not going to make it bigger than it is. That's important. The unflappable part's important, and he's got the weapons to go with it. All those things, really, are a nice elixir to be able to go to at the back end of a game and close it down."
It’s remarkable how good Suarez has been. He’s quickly made a name for himself in San Diego. With his 2024 campaign showing no signs of slowing down, Suarez is arguably the game’s top closer.
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