Eugenio Suarez rumors pick up steam: Red Sox trending and challengers to the Mariners

Of the remaining free agent hitters, Eugenio Suárez is probably the most dangerous and the most frustrating in equal measure. He finished last season with 49 home runs and an .824 OPS, which is hard to complain about. In 53 games with the Seattle Mariners after the trade deadline, however, his OPS plummeted to .682 as his strikeout rate spiked to an untenable 35.9 percent.

Suárez is a bad defensive third baseman. He provides little to no value as a base-runner. But man, when he gets the barrel on a baseball, it tends to fly a long, long way. He is 34 years old, and his volatility will probably limit his compensation at the end of the day. But teams are very much interested — and it sounds like the market is beginning to heat up.

Red Sox pick up momentum in Suárez sweepstakes

MassLive's Chris Cotillo recently dropped his predicted Opening Day roster for the Boston Red Sox. Notably present as the starting third baseman: Eugenio Suárez, who would fill the void Alex Bregman's departure opened up.

"The perfect scenario for the Red Sox would be unloading from a surplus (outfield? starting pitching?) to add a pretty good starter at either second base or third base in a sizable trade," Cotillo writes. "At some point, though, it becomes a value proposition and it’s clear Breslow doesn’t like the asking prices, at least to this point, on the guys he’s targeting. Running parallel to all of that is what seems to be a slow market for Suárez, who isn’t a great defender and strikes out too often but did mash 49 homers last year."

With the market collapsing and the Red Sox short on power, Suárez is probably their best (or at least their most affordable) upgrade at this point. Marcelo Mayer is the long-term third baseman, but he can spend a season at second base with no harm done. Suárez will almost certainly spend a fair amount of time at DH, too, allowing Mayer to slide over to a more premium position.

Craig Breslow flat-out rejected Bregman's request for a no-trade clause, but Boston was clearly willing to spend money on a third baseman. Suárez could end up on a much cheaper one- or two-year deal, without the potential hang-ups of a more substantial contract. The defense takes a hit, counter to Breslow's stated desire to improve Boston's run prevention, but Suárez is the righty power bat this Red Sox lineup so desperately needs. A career OPS of 1.277 at Fenway Park should help more skeptical fans come around on the idea.

Is Suárez preferable to Brendan Donovan? Nico Hoerner? Even Matt Shaw? That depends on your own preferences, but for a Red Sox lineup lacking power beyond Roman Anthony, there is considerable value in Suárez's ability to clean up the bases in the four-hole.

Mariners are favorites — but other teams are lurking

Insider Jon Heyman appeared on a Bleacher Report livestream this week to unfurl his MLB notebook. In regards to Suárez, he named the incumbent Seattle Mariners as the favorite to sign the 2025 All-Star. While Suárez did not perform well after the deadline, he's been with the Mariners for two separate stints now. He's clearly liked in the organization and Seattle's infield depth chart is a bit thin after the departure of Jorge Polanco.

That said, he also notes the volume of quality prospects coming up through Seattle's farm system, with seven in MLB Pipeline's Top 100. That does not include Cole Young, their former No. 1 prospect, and Ben Williamson, who both made their debuts this past season. If Seattle opts for the upside of longevity of youth, Heyman has a couple other teams in Suárez's radar: the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds.

Pirates, Reds loom as challengers to Seattle

This checks out logically, as both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati came into the offseason looking for power. Both teams made a run at Kyle Schwarber but ultimately fell short. Suárez is not Schwarber, but he's a nice discount option — on the field and on the books. If he can replicate even 90 percent of his overall success last season, that's a dramatic boon for either club.

Pittsburgh has made strides since the Schwarber whiff. Newcomers Brandon Lowe and Ryan O'Hearn combined for 48 home runs last season, while the expected promotion of top prospect Konnor Griffin adds another explosive weapon to the lineup. Plop Suárez into the cleanup spot, hopefully with some growth from Oneil Cruz and a bounce back from Bryan Reynolds, and suddenly Pittsburgh has the shape of a contender.

The Reds are a bit further behind the eight-ball despite their Wild Card berth in 2025. This offseason has crawled by with very little movement in Cincinnati. The lineup is virtually unchanged at its core. A superstar leap from Elly De La Cruz is imminent, but if the Reds want to build on last season's success, the lineup needs a shot in the arm. Suárez can provide it, even if he's relegated to DH duties with perennial Gold Glove candidate Ke'Bryan Hayes at third.

Obviously, Boston is another potential landing spot, while potential dark horse teams — Philadelphia, New York Yankees, Miami, even Arizona — all lurk. Suárez was a questionable investment back when nine figures felt like a possibility, but that was months ago, before the trade deadline. If he's settling for a minor one-year deal, a lot more teams should be hoping to strike a bargain on a flawed but productive player.