The Reds are bringing back a familiar face.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan is reporting Eugenio Suárez has agreed to a one-year, $15 million deal with Cincinnati, with a mutual option for 2027. The addition gives the Reds a right-handed power bat for the middle of their lineup. Suárez spent seven seasons with the franchise from 2015 through the ‘21 season before he was traded to the Mariners in March of 2022.
The 34-year-old was arguably the biggest name among the MLB hitters left on the free agent market. He’s likely to spend most of his time at designated hitter.
Suárez was named an All-Star for the second time in 2025. He put up monster power numbers, as he belted 49 home runs and racked up 118 RBIs. He spent most of the season with the Diamondbacks, with whom he slashed .248/.320/.576, with 36 home runs, and 87 RBIs in 106 games. Arizona sent him to Seattle before the trade deadline, but he struggled after arriving. In his 53 games with the Mariners last season, Suárez slashed .189/.255/.428, with 13 home runs, 31 RBIs, and a paltry 0.3 bWAR.
He’ll be hoping to find more consistency in Cincinnati, where he’s had success before. During a two-year period with the Reds from 2018 to ‘19, Suárez slashed .277/.362/.550, with 83 home runs and 207 RBIs in 302 games. He produced 7.3 bWAR and an OPS of .912.
Suárez will join a lineup in need of some punch. Elly De La Cruz is the only other dynamic bat among the team’s regulars, though Cincinnati hopes Sal Stewart and JJ Bleday can join them.
For the Reds, it’s an affordable deal for a proven power bat. Suárez certainly has his warts as an all-or-nothing power guy, but he has a proven track record of putting balls out of the park, and he’s done it in Cincinnati before.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Reds Sign Slugger Eugenio Suárez to One-Year Deal.
