Currently a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, third baseman Eugenio Suarez is one of the most prominent names on the current MLB trade market. And if the Cincinnati Reds are going to be in the mix for their former player, the price of doing business has been made clear.
C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports that the Reds are having discussions with the Diamondbacks about trading for Suarez – and that the interest is “mutual”.
According to major-league sources, there is mutual interest between the Reds and Diamondbacks in a deal that would bring Suárez back to Cincinnati. He entered Wednesday with a National League-best 36 home runs and leads baseball with 86 RBIs.
Suarez began his career in the majors with the Reds, playing his first round big league seasons at the Great American Ball Park before a winter 2022 trade to the Seattle Mariners (along with Jesse Winker) in exchange for Justin Dunn, Jake Fraley, Brandon Williamson and Connor Phillips. Since that time, he has gone from strength to strength, and the only reason he is widely – albeit not exclusively – considered available on the trade market is because the Diamondbacks as a team have not performed at the same level.
Reds Have Arms To Offer
The Reds are only in the middle of the pack, and not much better off than the Diamondbacks, who are now just three games under .500 and 5.0 games back in the National League Wild Card chase. However, aged 34, Suarez may remain on the market through sheer opportunity cost alone. And if he is, the Reds have some arms to offer.
In his report, Rosecrans establishes that the Diamondbacks are prioritizing young, controllable starting pitching in any deal for Suarez, along with middle infield help. And in that respect, the Reds are well-positioned.
A recent look at the Reds’ prospect rankings highlighted that they have three quality arms among baseball’s top 50 prospects; Chase Petty, Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder. The Reds also have plenty of young infield talent to offer, in the forms of Sal Stewart, Cam Collier, Tyson Lewis, Edwin Arroyo and Sammy Stafura, to the point that Noelvi Marte is now being moved to the outfield.
Right Price For 60 Games?
Earlier this week, the Diamondbacks dealt away first baseman Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners, signalling their intent to deal even after an improved run of play. It is not likely to be their last deal, and with Suarez turning 34 years old last week in the final season of his contract, it is now or never.
That said, the Reds do not have to bid. Unless Suarez signs a new deal – one which will involve a big pay rise on this year’s $15 million, commensurate with his 2025 performance – trading for him would be to trade for a 60-game rental. The bat would be most welcome in an offense that just cannot get out of the middle of the pack, even in an extremely favorable hitter’s park, yet if Suarez is only an upgrade for two months, at the cost of multiple future years, he might not be one at all.
Although a reunion with a fan favorite who is playing the best ball of his life is certainly tempting – and, if discounting the price in trade, logical – the rumor mill is emphatic that Suarez will be the subject of a serious bidding war. If the Reds include either of the Chases, they can win that war. But the path out of the mediocrity in which the Reds seem trapped does not involve expensive rentals.
Reds’ Price Named for Unlikely Eugenio Suarez Return