We’ve finally reached the week of the MLB trade deadline, and the reported top target for the Seattle Mariners, third baseman Eugenio Suárez, remains a hot commodity on the market.
Salk: Naylor trade gives Seattle Mariners leverage for more moves
Here’s a look at the latest reports regarding teams that have shown interest in Suárez ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline.
A third team wants to reunite
The Mariners were the last of Suárez’s three former teams to trade him, sending him to the Arizona Diamondbacks prior to the 2024 season after he spent two years in Northwest Green. But now that he’s the MLB leader in RBIs and challenging his career-high homers of 49 from 2019, all of those teams have reportedly inquired with the D-backs about reuniting with him.
One of them is the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers.
USA Today MLB insider Bob Nightengale reported Monday that the Tigers, who are hosting Arizona for three games beginning Monday, do not want to let Suárez leave town unless it’s with them on their way to their next series in Philadelphia that starts Friday.
“The Detroit Tigers, one of the strong suitors for Diamondbacks All Star 3B Eugenio Suárez, would love to finalize a deal before Suarez leaves town Wednesday,” Nightengale wrote on social media.
The Tigers could use some help to get out their current skid, having lost 12 of their 14 games. That includes a three-game sweep by the Mariners in Detroit from July 11-13.
Suárez broke into the majors with Detroit, playing 85 games for the Tigers in 2014. He was traded that winter to Cincinnati, where he played the next seven seasons.
The Reds, who traded Suárez to the Mariners in spring training 2022, have also reportedly discussed re-acquiring Suárez with the Diamondbacks. However, MLB.com reporter Mark Feinsand called a potential Reds-Diamondbacks deal for the slugger “a long shot” last week.
A potential price
The New York Yankees took themselves out of the running for Suárez when they instead picked up third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies in a trade on Friday. Reports after the fact give an indication of where Arizona is setting the market.
From Friday: Where Suárez market stands after Yankees trade for a 3B
Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reported Sunday that talks between the Yankees and D-backs “stalled” after Arizona requested an “MLB player, an upper-level prospect (Double-A or Triple-A), and at least one lower-level prospect, per industry sources.”
That’s a hefty price for the 34-year-old Suárez considering he would be a rental who is due to be a free agent after the season.
Another hat in the ring
The long list of teams reported to ask about Suárez grew by one this weekend when the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber wrote of the Phillies’ interest in him.
In addition to the Mariners, Phillies, Reds, Tigers and Yankees, other teams reported to inquire to Arizona about Suárez include the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros.
It all adds up as John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports, a sister outlet of Seattle Sports, reported Thursday that 12 teams to that point had talked to the Diamondbacks about Suárez.
Seattle Mariners trade deadline coverage
• Dipoto: Mariners to be ‘aggressive’ on bullpen trade market
• If Mariners want to go big on a bullpen trade, there are options
• How Josh Naylor helps the Mariners in multiple ways
• The top players who could move before MLB trade deadline
• What the Seattle Mariners said about their trade for Josh Naylor