The Reds have a power problem to solve again, but they may already have a familiar answer sitting in plain sight.
Cincinnati got better in the power department in 2026, yet that doesn’t mean the lineup is suddenly complete. The bigger lesson from the 2025 postseason team was how much a lack of pop had hurt them, and once that issue got fixed, everything else came apart. Now the club faces a tough reality: power is expensive, and with needs at starting catcher, in the rotation, and across the bullpen, the Reds are not going to have the money to chase a premier slugger.
That’s where Eugenio Suárez enters the picture. He has interest in returning to Cincinnati, and after a rougher 2026 season, the Reds could potentially bring him back on a bargain.
Suárez made $15 million in 2026, and the mutual option for $16 million in 2027 will almost certainly be declined. The easy argument is that paying any amount for a washed 35-year-old is too much. But that case gets a lot harder to make when the numbers still show a hitter with life left in the bat.
He hit 26 home runs, which is hardly nothing, and his late-season production looked much more like the old Suárez. From August 1 through the end of the year, he posted a .235/.363/.523 line, good for a 141 wRC+.
There’s also more to his value than the box score. Suárez would bring veteran leadership to a young group that includes Hector Rodriguez, which is part of why a reunion still makes sense for Cincinnati.
A one-year deal with incentives could be the cleanest way to make it work for both sides.
Spotrac pegs Suárez’s market value at two years and $15.6 million, but a multi-year commitment feels heavy at this stage. Spotrac’s estimate is based on comparable players, including Max Muncy, Christian Walker, J.D.
Martinez, and Carlos Santana. The Walker comparison, though, comes with a catch: he was coming off the two best seasons of his career when he signed, so that contract pushes the projection upward.
The smarter path is probably a deal built around incentives. Suárez is not likely to get another $15 million season, and Cincinnati doesn’t need to bid like it’s buying his peak years all over again.
A one-year agreement at $7.5 million would make sense for the Reds, but Suárez could find a little more elsewhere. Incentives could bridge that gap.
In the best-case version, Suárez could add another $1.6 million, which would push the total to $9.1 million. The Reds would happily pay that if it meant he was back near his best and the team was celebrating a World Series title.
More realistically, he could collect an extra $350K through plate appearance incentives if he stays healthy and productive. An All-Star nod or Silver Slugger award would also come with another $250K, even if those outcomes are less likely.
There’s a clear upside for Suárez, too. If he gets back near his near-50-homer level, he’d head back to free agency at age 36 and be positioned to cash in again.
For Cincinnati, it would be a practical way to bring back a familiar bat without tying up too much money. For Suárez, it would be a chance to get rewarded for what he still brings to the table.
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