The Cincinnati Reds’ deadline search for a big bat could find the team reuniting with Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez, who played for the Reds from 2015 to 2021.
According to major-league sources, there is mutual interest between the Reds and Diamondbacks in a deal that would bring Suárez back to Cincinnati. He entered Wednesday with a National League-best 36 home runs and leads baseball with 86 RBIs.
While the Reds’ primary need is a right-handed hitting outfield bat, the team has experimented with moving third baseman Noelvi Marte to the outfield. Marte made his outfield debut Sunday in New York against the Yankees, and the 23-year-old former shortstop also played an inning in right field Tuesday during the Reds’ loss to the Washington Nationals.
The Diamondbacks need controllable, young pitching. The Reds are unlikely to part with Chase Burns, who struck out 10 in Tuesday’s loss to the Nationals, or Rhett Lowder, who is currently injured. But the team does have right-hander Chase Petty, a promising talent, even if he’s having a down season.
Petty, 22, has made two starts and three appearances for the Reds this season, allowing 14 runs (13 earned) in six innings. He was battered for nine of those runs in his debut against the St. Louis Cardinals in April, but Cardinals hitters still came away praising the stuff they saw from the former first-rounder.
Chase Petty’s stats hardly look impressive, but even opposing hitters rave about his stuff. (Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)
Petty is 2-7 with a 4.14 ERA at Triple-A Louisville this season, with 68 strikeouts and 31 walks in 67 1/3 innings. Petty was scheduled to start for the Bats on Wednesday, but was scratched due to illness. He is expected to start this weekend. According to sources, the Diamondbacks are at least interested in kicking the tires on Petty.
The Reds acquired Petty after the 2022 lockout as the team shed payroll, sending starter Sonny Gray to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Petty, the 26th pick in the 2021 draft. Petty was known primarily for throwing 100 mph while in high school in New Jersey. Coincidentally, the day after trading for Petty, the Reds sent Suárez to Seattle along with outfielder Jesse Winker for four players: lefty Brandon Williamson, right-hander Justin Dunn, outfielder Jake Fraley and a player to be named. The Mariners sent right-hander Connor Phillips to the Reds later that month to complete the trade.
The Reds also have a surplus of young middle infielders at the lower levels, such as Sammy Stafura, Tyson Lewis and newly drafted Steele Hall. Another shortstop, switch-hitting Edwin Arroyo, is in Double A, and could draw interest. With Elly De La Cruz at shortstop and under team control through the 2029 season, the team could deal from its surplus of young shortstops.
While third baseman Sal Stewart is someone the team would be loath to trade, his fellow 2022 first-rounder, infielder Cam Cameron, could be added to any package the Reds could make. Another pitching name that could entice potential trade partners is Adam Serwinowski, a 6-foot-5 left-hander who was drafted out of high school in 2022 and has seen his velocity improve each year in professional baseball.
The Reds are familiar with Suárez, who is in the final year of the deal he signed with the team in 2018. Former Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams signed Suárez to a seven-year deal worth $66 million and a $15 million team option during spring training in 2018. Seattle traded Suárez to the Diamondbacks following the 2023 season, and Arizona picked up his option after he hit 30 home runs and drove in 101 runs last season.
Suárez, 34, would give the Reds a power bat in the middle of their lineup to complement switch-hitting shortstop De La Cruz. Suárez is having perhaps the best season of his career. He put up at least 3.5 bWAR from 2017 to 2019 with the Reds, hitting 49 home runs with the team in 2019, setting a single-season record for home runs hit by a Venezuelan player.
Of Suárez’s 36 home runs this season, two were at Great American Ball Park. Suárez hit his 100th and 101st career homers at GABP during the Diamondbacks’ visit to Cincinnati in early June. Suárez noted that the Reds are still his oldest daughter’s favorite team and that he still holds the city of Cincinnati close to his heart.
Suárez received cheers from the Reds’ crowd during his visit, and he is well-respected inside the Reds’ organization.
(Top photo of Eugenio Suárez: Norm Hall / Getty Images)
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