The Arizona Diamondbacks have blinked first. Everyone close your blinds and lock your doors; the trade deadline frenzy has started: The Diamondbacks just traded first baseman Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners for Brandyn Garcia and Ashton Izzi (the Mariners' No. 13 and No. 16 prospects, respectively, according to MLB Pipeline), leaving us all to wonder when the next domino will fall.
While Naylor to Seattle sent shockwaves around the league, Arizona has yet to trade its most sought-after name at this year’s deadline: Eugenio Suárez. And now that they’ve signaled that they’re sellers, it feels like it's only a matter of when, not if. So, now that Naylor is headed to the Pacific Northwest, let's reset the board: Here are the teams most likely to get Suárez in the coming days, ranked by both need and the ability to get a deal done.
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1. New York Yankees
I’m not sure if speculation can be measured, but the Yankees and Suárez have been the most abundantly discussed trade possibility in the baseball zeitgeist for weeks now. It just feels like a New York trade: A position player who hits a lot of home runs and plays bad defense fits the Yankee mold. Of course, it helps that third base has been a revolving door for the team this season, with Oswald Peraza making the most appearances there (48) while having an OPS+ of 25.
There have been conflicting reports in recent days about the Yankees' level of interest here, but with Spencer Jones on a historic tear and several pitchers rising up prospect rankings, New York probably has enough in the chamber to get a deal done — especially considering how relatively light the return for Naylor was.
2. Detroit Tigers
The team that has boasted the best record in the American League for pretty much the entire season (up until the past few days at least) also had MLB.com’s top-ranked farm system coming into the year. The Tigers have the most assets to give up, such as shortstop Kevin McGonigle (1.110 OPS in High-A this year) and outfielder Max Clark (.857 OPS at the same level).
Much like the Yankees, the Tigers have a third-base-by-committee situation. Theirs includes Zach McKinstry, who was just an All-Star, and who I’m sure wouldn’t mind sharing the hot corner if a newcomer had 36 home runs already this year. Scott Harris has been loath to make truly big swings since taking over in Detroit, but he's also yet to have an opportunity like this one.
3. Seattle Mariners
Yeah, that’s right, the Mariners might just be warming up for a second trade with the Diamondbacks so they can become Arizona north. The Mariners had the fifth-best farm system in baseball coming into the season. and their trade for Naylor didn’t even touch any of their top 10 prospects.
The jewel of Seattle's farm system, Colt Emerson, is a shortstop/third baseman who just turned 20 and would serve as a nice replacement for Suárez in Arizona. Plus, Suárez played for Seattle in 2022 and 2023, so it could potentially be a homecoming for him. The Mariners offense could still use some work, and Ben Williamson remains a black hole at the hot corner. As long as Seattle has this rotation, going for it will always be a sound strategy.
4. Milwaukee Brewers
Seattle was ranked higher on this list because it’s been reported they’re aggressively pursuing Suárez, and I haven’t heard any trade buzz surrounding Milwaukee. But still: It just makes too much sense for the Brewers to want Suárez.
The Brewers have the best record in the National League – I know, feel free to fact check me – and they don’t have a single hitter, qualified or otherwise, who has an OPS of .800 or better. They’ve been accomplishing all this with an incredible starting rotation, a bunch of “meh” hitters and the power of friendship. Their starting third baseman, Caleb Durbin, has five home runs on the season, but at 25 years old, there’s a chance he could be part of a package for Suárez.
Milwaukee always keeps one eye on the future, but they also haven't been afraid to take big swings on deadline rentals in the past. With a golden opportunity in front of them, they could be motivated to erase the memory of last year's painful Wild Card Round exit.