Eugenio Suarez is returning to Cincinnati, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the slugger has signed a one-year, $15MM deal with the Reds that includes a mutual option for the 2027 season. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the option is worth $16MM, though mutual options are rarely triggered by both sides. The deal will become official once the Reds clear a spot on their 40-man roster, and presumably when Suarez passes a physical. Suarez is represented by Octagon.
Reports emerged last week that the Reds had interest in a reunion with the third baseman, who hit .253/.335/.476 with 189 homers over 3730 plate appearances during the 2015-21 seasons. The continued uncertainty over the Reds’ broadcast deal with Main Street Sports was said to be a holdup for the team in how much money they had available to pursue Suarez or other targets like Austin Hays (who signed with the White Sox yesterday).
With an agreement now in place with Suarez, it could be that the Reds have gotten some clarity about how they’ll proceed with MSS or perhaps a new broadcasting agreement with Major League Baseball itself. Alternatively, Suarez’s acceptance of just a one-year deal and arguably a discount price may be another reason why the two sides were able to line up on a contract.
MLB Trade Rumors ranked Suarez 20th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, and projected him for a three-year, $63MM deal. The one-year, $15MM pact falls well short of that prediction in both years and average annual value, as it could be teams were wary of making a larger commitment to a strikeout-prone player who turns 35 in July. Suarez’s third base glovework also dropped in 2025, as he posted -6 Defensive Runs Saved and -3 Outs Above Average.
With the bat, however, Suarez hit 49 home runs in 2025, matching his career high set with the Reds in 2019. Suarez’s overall slash line of .228/.298/.526 reflects his power-heavy output, as he delivered a below-average walk rate for the second consecutive season. Though Suarez’s 29.8% strikeout rate put him in the fifth percentile of all batters, he maxed out when he did make contact, with strong hard-contact and barrel rates.
It has been a strange two-season run for Suarez, who sandwiched a superstar-level campaign in between two mediocre half-seasons. Suarez had only a .591 OPS over his first 315 PA of the 2024 season with the Diamondbacks, before he caught fire and hit .276/.336/.593 with 60 homers over 766 PA from July 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025. Unfortunately, Suarez then drastically cooled off after he was dealt to the Mariners at the trade deadline, but he somewhat rebounded to get some key hits during Seattle’s postseason run to Game 7 of the ALCS.
This rather extreme streakiness could be another reason Suarez’s market never really took off this winter, as teams were justifiably not sure exactly which version of Suarez they’d get in his 13th big league season. The Mariners had some interest in a reunion, and other teams like the Cubs, Red Sox, and Pirates were also linked to the slugger.
Pittsburgh was the other finalist for Suarez’s services, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. As per MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf and Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates were willing to offer a $15MM average annual salary to Suarez and also offered him a second guaranteed year. In taking just a one-year contract, Suarez seems to be hoping to fully re-establish his market by having a big season in 2026 and then re-entering free agency next winter. It was also very likely to Cincinnati’s benefit that Suarez is already very familiar with the organization from his previous seven-year run in the Queen City.
While the Pirates are on the way up, Suarez may have been more interested in joining a Reds team that actually did make the playoffs in 2025. Cincinnati reached the postseason on the strength of its rotation, as the lineup was average at best in most offensive categories, and 21st of 30 teams in home runs. Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer combined for 43 homers as the Reds’ top two home-run hitters in 2025, so Suarez alone tops that total.
Suarez steps right into an everyday role in the Reds’ lineup, though it will be interesting to see where exactly Suarez is deployed. Ke’Bryan Hayes is arguably the best defensive third baseman in the game, so Suarez is more likely to see a lot of action as a DH and possibly at first base. Suarez’s MLB history as a first baseman consists of just three late-game appearances, all of which came last year. The Reds will surely give Suarez plenty of time at the position this spring to see how Suarez fares at the cold corner, and Steer and Sal Stewart will also receive at-bats in the first base/DH mix. Stewart can also play some second base and Steer could play left field, with Steer’s right-handed bat complementing the left-handed hitting JJ Bleday on the grass.
Bleday and Dane Myers were the only notable offensive adds the Reds made prior to today, with the two outfielders more or less replacing Hays and Gavin Lux (who was dealt to the Rays as part of the three-team deal with the Angels that brought reliever Brock Burke to Cincinnati). Suarez now represents a major boost to the Reds’ lineup, and a source of stability on a team that is still waiting to see what it has in players like Steer, Stewart, Matt McLain, or Noelvi Marte. Even De La Cruz was more good than great in 2025, but EDLC figures to benefit with Suarez providing protection behind him in the lineup.
RosterResource estimates a $126.1MM payroll for the Reds at the moment, which is a minor increase over their $118.7MM figure from the 2025 season. President of baseball operations Nick Krall said in early November that the Reds would be spending at “around the same” levels as 2025, so it could be that the team is essentially done with significant offseason moves unless they can unload some salary.
This could again change depending on what happens with the Reds’ broadcast deal, or ownership might potentially green-light some more spending either now or during the season (perhaps once some ticket revenue starts rolling in). The Reds seem to be well-positioned to make another run at a postseason berth in 2026, even though within the NL Central alone, the Pirates will be better and the Brewers and Cubs each figure to keep battling for the division crown.
Inset photo courtesy of Stephen Brashear — Imagn Images
