Cubs officially have no excuse not to close the deal for Eugenio Suarez

The Chicago Cubs have been carried by an elite offense for most of the 2025 season, but cracks are starting to surface that have the front office pursuing the top available hitter in the trade market. Even with a surging Matt Shaw since the All-Star break, the Cubs have not taken their foot off the pedal in hopes of acquiring veteran third baseman Eugenio Suarez prior to the July 31 deadline.

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Jeff Passan speculation should excite Cubs fans

ESPN's top MLB insider Jeff Passan had a Q&A on his Threads account Tuesday morning and one response definitely jumped off the page if you're a Cubs fan who wants Suarez on the team ASAP. While answering who will realistically end up with the Arizona Diamondbacks slugger, Passan wrote the following.

Cubs and Mariners are at the top of the list. I'd be surprised if he didn't end up in one of those two spots. Phillies, Reds, Tigers to a much lesser extent. But it's the deadline. Weird things happen. Willingness to give up talent can change with other moves. This is the farthest thing from science.

Suarez is currently in the midst of the best offensive season of his career. The right-handed hitting slugger has a 143 wRC+, slashing .248/.321/.577, and ranks fourth in MLB with 36 home runs.

Sure, Shaw has been on fire at the plate since action resumed following the break, but the Cubs have more than enough motivation to make a big splash by adding a monster bat to their lineup that has a proven track record.

Acquiring Suarez could go beyond strengthening third base for the Cubs as he could give Craig Counsell the flexibility to move Seiya Suzuki to left field, replacing a struggling Ian Happ while plugging Suarez into the DH spot when the team still wants Shaw at third base. After a slow start vs. lefties in 2025, Suarez is back to crushing them, hitting nine home runs against left-handers in his last 54 plate appearances.

However, the price is what will ultimately determine if Suarez gets moved within the next couple of days. Will a team either pay up or will the Diamondbacks lower the cost? Because according to a report out of Seattle, the ask is enormous.

Insane asking price for Suarez

According to Seattle Mariners beat reporter Daniel Kramer, the Diamondbacks are asking for multiple top-100 prospects in trade talks for Suarez. The Mariners have already made a trade the Diamondbacks, acquiring first baseman Josh Naylor for a pair of top-30 prospects from their farm system.

Via MLB.com:

Seattle has eight prospects within MLB Pipeline’s Top 100, positioning the club to conceivably make any deal it wants, and word is that Arizona is asking for multiple among that group for Suárez. The Mariners must also weigh 50-ish games of Suárez -- who is a free agent at season’s end -- or any rental, and the potential of six years of service time from each of their prospects before reaching free agency should they pan out in the Majors.

It would be absolutely shocking if the Mariners or any interested team gave up multiple top-100 prospects for Suarez. It's kind of difficult picturing a team trading even one for a rental bat. (A reminder that MLB teams, as desperate as they can get, rarely trade top-100 prospects for rental players at the trade deadline.)

In the past four years there has only been one deal that included a top-100 prospect and that was for two rental pitchers as the Los Angeles Angels got Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez for Edgar Quero and Ky Bush. Quero was the top-100 prospect in that trade.

Mariners pivoting away from Suarez

As the trade deadline approaches it appears as though the Mariners won't bend the knee and instead are pivoting at third base rather than giving in to the Diamondbacks' demands. Willi Castro of the Minnesota Twins has been on Seattle's radar before and now he could be their ideal target.

An emerging team to watch is the Twins, who signaled that they’re open for business on Monday when trading starting pitcher Chris Paddack within the division to Detroit. Willi Castro is Minnesota’s clearest position-player fit for Seattle -- a utility man who switch-hits, precisely the type of skill set that this front office covets -- and the Mariners have indeed made calls inquiring on the veteran’s availability, a league source said. The Mariners also pursued Castro last offseason but the Twins were not in sell mode.

Eugenio Suarez injury update is positive

The good news for the Diamondbacks (and, well, really for the other teams who want Suarez) is that he's been cleared to return to play after getting drilled on the hand Monday night against the Detroit Tigers.

The Diamondbacks don't have Suarez in the lineup Tuesday night, so the spotlight will be on him Wednesday when he returns. Buyers will want to see how he looks before making their final push and that will also be the last chance to watch Suarez play before the trade deadline passes as Arizona has Thursday off.

If the Cubs really want to make an all-in move, then they're set up to bring in Suarez. Not only does he make them better, but acquiring him also keeps Suarez off the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds, who have been kicking the tires on a potential Suarez trade.