SAN DIEGO (AP) — Right-hander Robert Suarez is guaranteed $11 million over two seasons in his contract with the San Diego Padres.
Suarez gets a $1 million signing bonus payable by Jan. 15 as part of the deal announced Wednesday just before the start of Major League Baseball's lockout.
He has a $5 million salary next season, and the deal includes a $5 million player option for 2023 with a $1 million buyout. Suarez must decide on the option by the fifth day after the 2022 World Series. If Suarez declines the option, he would become a free agent.
As part of the deal, the Padres agreed Suarez cannot be assigned to the minor leagues without his consent.
A 30-year-old from Venezuela, Suarez had spent five seasons pitching in Japan and went 7-13 with a 2.81 ERA for Fukuoka (2016-19) and Hanshin (2020-21).
He was 1-1 with a 1.16 ERA and a Japan-high 42 saves in 62 relief appearances last season for the Central League's Hanshin Tigers, striking out 68 and walking eight in 62 1/3 innings. He was 5-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 23 saves in 2015 for Mexico's Saraperos de Saltillo.
Teams on Wednesday announced contracts for 34 players that totaled $1,476,230,000, the highest one-day total in MLB history. Among them were six nine-figure deals: Texas infielders Corey Seager ($325 million) and Marcus Semien ($175 million), Detroit infielder Javier Báez ($140 million), New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer ($130 million), Toronto right-hander Kevin Gausman ($110 million) and Minnesota center fielder Byron Buxton ($100 million).
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