Analysis: Eugenio Suarez, Mariners Reunion Beefs Up Middle of Order

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The Seattle Mariners reunited with slugger Eugenio Suarez, acquiring him from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the MLB trade deadline. [/caption]

Good. Vibes. Only.

The Seattle Mariners were not done making the team better for the final two months of the season. No sir/ma’am, heck no at all. After acquiring Josh Naylor to play first base and Caleb Ferguson to bolster the bullpen, Seattle got the biggest fish in the sea, acquiring Eugenio Suarez from the Diamondbacks in exchange for first baseman Tyler Locklear and right-handed pitching prospects Juan Burgos and Hunter Cranton.

How does Suarez make Seattle better? How does he fit into the lineup? What kind of return did the Diamondbacks get?

Let’s talk about it.

Remind Me About Suarez, please?

Sure thing. Suarez has been one of the better power-hitters in baseball over the past decade-plus, with the majority of his success coming as a member of the Reds. The Mariners acquired him in the deal that also sent Jesse Winker to Seattle, and while Winker flamed out, Suarez was exceptional in his first year with the M’s while helping the team break their playoff drought.

The 2023 season wasn’t so kind as his OPS fell to .714, but it was still surprising that he was almost literally sold to Arizona prior to the 2024 season. He struggled to begin that first season with the Diamondbacks, but he still reached 30 homers with a .789 OPS.

But to say that Suarez has taken a leap forward in 2025 is quite the understatement. He leads all of baseball in RBI with 87 -- a stat that requires people to get on ahead of him, but still impressive nonetheless -- and he’s hit 36 homers with an excellent OPS of .897.

Simply put, there have been few players in baseball who have had the kind of power production that Suarez has attained over the past decade, and there was no better offensive player available at this deadline. It’s not even close.

What Are Suarez’s Strengths?

Literal strength. There are simply few players in baseball who have his ability to muscle baseballs out of the park, and to say the ball jumps off his bat is to say that ice is cold. His average exit velocity in 2025 is a solid 91 mph, a number that is even more impressive considering how much loft he has in his swing. He barrels the baseball 14.7 percent of the time while making hard contact at a 50.9 percent rate, with both of those figures ranking just under the 90th percentile of qualified hitters.

Suarez is the type of player who can hit the ball out to any part of the park at any part of the plate, and we’ve seen him have success mashing taters in T-Mobile Park. There’s no wondering “how Suarez fits in this park.” He fits in any park. He’d hit homers in Yellowstone.

Are There Concerns?

Some. Not a lot. But some. Suarez strikes out a lot. A lot. A lot. A lot. A lot. (note: I am not just trying to up my word count). The only season he hasn’t struck out more than 170 times in is 2020, for reasons that should be obvious. Those strikeouts don’t come with a ton of walks, either, although he is a guy who draws his fair share of hit-by-pitches to help the ole’ on-base percentage. Even though he’s made so much hard contact, his expected batting average is .233 because it’s very hard to get a hit if you don’t hit the baseball.

Perhaps the biggest concern here is defensively. Suarez was once among the upper-echelon defenders at the hot corner. That’s no longer the case for the 34-year old. He ranks in the eighth percentile in outs above-average, and a player who once had so much range that the Reds tried to make him a shortstop is no longer that type of player. There were numerous reports that teams that were trying to trade for Suarez were attempting to move him to first base or DH, and it’s understandable why.

Where Does Suarez Fit In The Lineup?

I have to imagine Suarez is here to hit cleanup. It makes too much sense for him not to, doesn’t it? Having Suarez hit behind Julio and Cal Raleigh and in front of Arozarena and Josh Naylor -- though their roles may be reversed if Dan Wilson wants to do the left-right-left-right thing -- almost makes too much sense. It’s definitely going to be in the middle of the order whether it’s third, fourth, or fifth, but no player screams “cleanup” more than Suarez does right now.

What Would You Do Defensively?

I’ll be shocked if the Mariners don’t have Suarez at third base, even if Ben Williamson is a considerably better defensive player at this point. What you gain from Suarez with the bat outweighs Williamson’s inability to drive the baseball.

That being said, I would at least consider giving Suarez some time at DH to keep him fresh. Jorge Polanco has looked “ok” defensively at second base, and Cole Young hasn’t exactly been dominant with the bat. You could then keep Williamson’s upper-echelon defense in the field and have Young either report back to Tacoma or play on a less regular basis.

But I’m guessing Suarez is going to play third way more often than not. And it’s fine.

What About The Return?

It’s an interesting one, certainly not an overpay for Seattle, but an interesting one for the D-backs.

Locklear was fantastic in Tacoma, and I can see him being a solid option at first base for a long time. Yeah, he struggled in his time with the Mariners, but that was such a small sample and it was also a year ago. He just looks like a much better hitter at this point; not that he looked “bad” last year in Tacoma, either. There’s risk as a right-handed hitting first baseman and he has a pretty low floor, but he’s a nice get.

Cranton was one of my favorite prospects in the system. He’s got an 80-grade fastball, a plus slider, and a tremendous feel for missing bats. The command’s not great, but I think the stuff is good enough that he could be a closer someday. We saw Burgos with Seattle, and there’s good enough stuff for him to be a high-leverage option.

So yeah, Seattle should have made this deal because, well, Eugenio Suarez. But the Diamondbacks did ok.

How Big Is This?

Massive.

It’s just massive, folks. Getting this type of hitter, a legitimate middle-of-the-order basher? Without giving up a Top 100 prospect? Without moving any of (in my opinion) your top 10 prospects?

This is big. And it’s the type of move World Series winning teams make. The Mariners made the type of moves you see from teams that play deep into October.

No, they shouldn’t have traded him in the first place. No, it doesn’t excuse their lack of moves in the offseason.

But this is awesome.

Good vibes only.