The Eugenio Suárez Sweepstakes Is Heating Up
No one in baseball has more suitors at the moment than Eugenio Suárez. The Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman seems destined to be on the move before the trade deadline at the end of the month, and he could be the best player available on the trade market.
Suárez just made the All-Star Team for the second time in his 12-year career. He leads the National League with 36 home runs and 86 runs batted in, and his .605 slugging percentage is second in the league to Shohei Ohtani's .614. He also has a reputation as a good defensive player.
The 34-year-old third baseman is earning $15 million this season, which is the final year of an eight-year contract that began in 2018. As a pending free agent, it makes sense that the 50-51 Diamondbacks, who are nine games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the division and 5.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, would shop him around.
Arizona acquired Suárez from the Seattle Mariners two years ago, and a return to the Pacific Northwest is a strong possibility. The two clubs have reportedly discussed a trade already. He played for the Mariners in 2022 and 2023, and they haven't adequately replaced him at third base since his departure. Their starter at the hot corner right now is rookie Ben Williamson, who is hitting .259/.293/.319 with an 80 OPS+, indicating his offense has been 20% below the league average.
The Mariners will have to outbid a handful of other teams for his services, including the New York Yankees. A third baseman is arguably their biggest need, especially in the lineup. They tried using Jazz Chisholm Jr. there earlier this year with DJ LeMahieu at second base, but LeMahieu has been released and Chisholm moved back up the middle. For now, Oswald Peraza and Jorbit Vivas have been their co-starters at third, but Peraza has a 27 OPS+ and Vivas has a 56 OPS+.
Another contending team with a clear need for a third baseman is the Chicago Cubs. They hitched their wagon to rookie Matt Shaw when they traded Isaac Paredes and Cam Smith for Kyle Tucker over the winter. Shaw has struggled so far, and was even sent down for a little while earlier this year. He's hitting .216/.288/.321 with a 77 OPS+, which isn't getting the job done. The Cubs don't have a real backup plan for Shaw failing to hit, so they may trade for Suárez or another player to bolster that lineup spot.
The Toronto Blue Jays could also enter the Eugenio Suárez sweepstakes. They have mostly relied on a few different utility infielders to handle second base and third base this season, including Ernie Clement, Andrés Giménez, and Will Wagner. The three of them have just nine home runs combined and none of them has an OPS+ above 92. Besides, Giménez is on the injured list with a sprained ankle. Addison Barger has spent a lot of time at third for them, but he has transitioned to become their starting right fielder, leaving them thin at the hot corner.
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