Trade Profile: Eugenio Suárez, 3B

Eugenio Suárez, 3B

Position: 3B B/T: R/R
Age: 33 (7/18/1991)
Contract Status: Free Agent after 2025 season

2025 Traditional Stats: 391 PA, .250/.320/.569/.889, 87 H, 31 HR, 78 RBI, 25 BB, 105 SO
2025 Advanced Stats: 142 wRC+, 142 OPS+, 26.9 SO%, 6.4 BB%, .258 BABIP, .348 xwOBA, 2.8 fWAR, 3.0 bWAR

Rundown

Eugenio Suárez has had a remarkably underrated career, despite accumulating 307 home runs and a .794 OPS throughout 12 seasons. With those numbers, you’d think he’d be one of the most decorated players in baseball over the last decade. The fact of the matter is, Suárez has only been named to two All-Star teams, including his selection to the National League roster this year, and he’s never won a Silver Slugger award. Now 33 years old and soon to be 34, Suárez is in the midst of arguably his best season yet.

Suárez enters the All-Star break as one of the best players this season in the National League, ranking first in the league in RBIs, second in home runs, second in slugging percentage, and ninth in OPS. His value is clearly in his bat and his ability to mash, and he ranks among the league leaders in barrel percentage (86th percentile) and hard-hit rate (85th percentile).

The slugger is not without downsides at the plate, including a worse-than-league-average chase rate (25th percentile) and a whiff rate (10th percentile) that is also below average. He’s also striking out a lot (13th percentile) and drawing few walks (26th percentile). This suggests some regression may be possible in the second half, but he has been consistently excellent all year, with his lowest OPS for a month being .791 in May.

Suárez has excelled against righties this year with a slash line of .268/.331/.562/.893, hitting 21 of his 31 home runs against right-handed pitchers. He hasn’t seen lefties as well, but the power numbers are there. He’s batting .193/.286/.590/.876 with 10 home runs in just 83 at-bats against southpaws.

Suárez has been a negative defender this year (-4 OAA), but is coming off two straight seasons (9 OAA in 2023 and 2 OAA last year) of being a good defender at third base.

The Arizona third baseman will be one of the most sought-after bats on the trade market as the deadline approaches. There will be some trepidation from teams, considering his age and a good chance of regression, but Suárez’s longevity and excellent play this year will enthrall teams looking for a middle-of-the-order bat.

Package

Many teams could use Eugenio Suárez, including the Yankees, who are not shy in expressing their need for a third baseman. The Mets, though, could use him too, with none of their young third basemen performing exceptionally well.

Proposed Deal

METS RECEIVE

• Eugenio Suárez

DIAMONDBACKS RECEIVE

• 3B Ronny Mauricio
• LHP Jonathan Santucci (No. 11 prospect per MLB Pipeline)
• RHP Brendan Girton (Not ranked per MLB Pipeline)

Recommendation

The Mets currently have a four-headed monster at the top of their lineup in Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Pete Alonso. Why not add another head to the monster?

In this scenario, Suárez would immediately become the everyday third baseman and likely slot in fifth in the batting order behind Alonso. And with Suárez set to be a 34-year-old free agent in the offseason, Vientos and Baty would still be in line to be the team’s third baseman of the future if they can prove they’re still capable.

This scenario has the Mets dealing from their plethora of young third basemen, sending Ronny Mauricio to Arizona to likely become the Diamondbacks’ starting third baseman for at least the rest of the season. Mauricio has a .719 OPS in 29 games this year.

The Mets would also have to part with two 2024 draftee pitchers in second-rounder Jonathan Santucci and 10th-rounder Brendan Girton. Santucci has a 3.42 ERA between High-A and Double-A, but has been pitching lights out after a brutal start to the year, while Girton owns a 2.69 ERA in 16 games at High-A.

The deal includes a ton of risk, especially with Santucci dealt away. The Mets, however, will have to outdo whatever the Yankees, or any other team, offers for Suárez’s services, meaning they’ll pay more than what they’d like to. It may not work out, but good teams need to be aggressive and continually improve in any way possible. Eugenio Suárez could give the Mets a boost à la Yoenis Céspedes in 2015. If that’s the case? They should pull the trigger.

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