Eugenio Suarez signed at long last, inking a one-year, $15 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds. Suarez joining the team with which he's had tremendous success, and would get to play half the time at hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark, is no surprise, but a 49-home run hitter having to settle for a very affordable one-year deal, even with his faults, was pretty shocking.
This is a huge win for the Reds, a team trying to get back to the postseason, and is an outcome that several teams should regret letting come to fruition.
Boston Red Sox
Admittedly, Suarez was far from a perfect fit with the Boston Red Sox. His declining defense would have made his fit at the hot corner awkward with Ranger Suarez and the other ground-ball specialists the Red Sox have to offer. Still, while they might've given up more than they'd have liked in the field with Suarez, the Red Sox need his bat.
The Red Sox had just two 20-home run hitters last season and let their third-best power hitter, Alex Bregman, walk in free agency. The Red Sox might be one of the best in the league when it comes to preventing runs, but you need to score runs to win, too, and the Red Sox, as constructed, won't score enough.
A Brendan Donovan trade would help, but barring that, it's hard to see the Red Sox finding an infield addition better than Suarez at this point in the offseason. Starting the season with Marcelo Mayer and either David Hamilton or Romy Gonzalez occupying two of the four infield spots shouldn't happen, yet after not even offering Suarez a contract, the Red Sox are dangerously close to that reality.
Philadelphia Phillies
Kyle Schwarber led the National League with 56 home runs in 2025, and yet, despite that, the Philadelphia Phillies were only ninth in the majors with 212 home runs as a team. To make matters worse, Schwarber and Harper (27 home runs), combined for just a shade below 40 percent of the Phillies' home runs, and the players who ranked third and fourth on their team (Max Kepler and Nick Castellanos) will almost certainly not be on their Opening Day roster.
The Phillies were top-heavy in the power department in 2025, and project to be even more so with the light-hitting Justin Crawford and Adolis Garcia coming off back-to-back down years as their outfield replacements. Suarez would've provided a major boost in the power department.
Alec Bohm is a better contact hitter than Suarez, but he hit just 11 home runs in 120 games last season, and he's hit more than 15 home runs just once. Suarez is not a good defender, but neither is Bohm. The Phillies had an opportunity to replace a key cog in their lineup with an upgrade, and instead, are likely going to choose to essentially run back a lineup that has consistently fallen short in October.
Detroit Tigers
Suarez chose to sign with the Reds, a team with which he was familiar, but why couldn't he have done so to join the Detroit Tigers? We know he would've been interested based on his pre-trade deadline comments when he said, "To finish where everything started, it would be cool," so Scott Harris deserves blame for a truly head-scratching decision when the Tigers clearly needed a big bat, particularly at third base. I mean, look at how the Tigers' third basemen performed last year.
Statistic | Tigers 3B MLB Rank |
|---|---|
wRC+ | 76 (T-26th) |
HR | 11 (T-25th) |
fWAR | 1.1 (T-20th) |
Again, Suarez is far from a perfect player, but he can rake. He hit 49 home runs for the second time in 2026, and he's hit 30+ home runs in six of the last seven full seasons (excluding 2020). His bat plays anywhere, and adding a premier right-handed power bat to hit between lefty mashers like Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter would've been wise.
The Tigers should feel immense pressure to win in what could be Tarik Skubal's last year in Detroit, but Harris appears satisfied essentially running back a lineup that scored four runs or fewer in six of their eight postseason games in 2025. That's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for 'em.
Seattle Mariners
I can understand why the Seattle Mariners didn't feel much urgency to re-sign Suarez, a player who, for whatever reason, struggled at the dish in each of his stints with the team. With that being said, Suarez's track record is too strong, the Mariners' expectations are too high, and perhaps most importantly, there are so few alternatives to excuse Jerry Dipoto here.
The Mariners re-signed Josh Naylor, but their infield is set to include light-hitting Ben Williamson and Cole Young, a 22-year-old who didn't hit much in his 77 games with Seattle last season. I like Williamson's glove, and Young is an intriguing prospect, so starting one of them is fine, but both? That's not what a team in contention should be doing.
Again, I ask, what's the alternative? If the Mariners can be the team to acquire Brendan Donovan, fine, but nothing about how this offseason has progressed suggests that'll happen. The Mariners already let Jorge Polanco walk, and losing Suarez, too, especially at the price he went for and without a viable alternative, is less than ideal.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Remember when the Pittsburgh Pirates were going to be ultra-aggressive this offseason? Sure, they traded for Brandon Lowe and signed Ryan O'Hearn, but are they really that much better offensively? Adding a premier power bat like Suarez would've ensured that, yes, they are much improved.
To be fair, the Pirates did try, reportedly offering Suarez the same one-year, $15 million deal he signed with the Reds, with a willingness to go higher, but as we learned in the Kyle Schwarber sweepstakes earlier this offseason, the Pirates have to outbid people to get them to sign. They tried to get him, but didn't go out of their way to get him, and now have to watch him play for a division rival.
Jared Triolo is a solid utility player, but in no way should he be a starting third baseman on a team trying to make the playoffs. Yet, barring a move that's unforeseen at this point, that'll likely be Pittsburgh's reality. The Pirates should be better, but their best right-handed hitter is Nick Gonzalez. They should regret this whiff as much as any other team.
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