The Mariners may have another chance to circle back to Eugenio Suárez, and this one comes with a different price tag.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that Suárez was placed on outright waivers, opening a 48-hour window for the other 29 clubs to make a claim. That move was made official on Tuesday, which means the clock is almost out before he would become a free agent. If Seattle puts in a claim, it would take on the roughly $3 million left on his contract.
That would be a much different transaction than the one the Mariners made a year ago. Seattle sent first baseman Tyler Locklear and pitchers Hunter Cranton and Juan Burgos to Arizona to get Suárez back for a pennant push, betting on a 34-year-old rental to bring power and some edge to third base. Geno paid it off in dramatic fashion, unloading one of the loudest swings in franchise history with an eighth-inning grand slam in Game 5 of the ALCS.
Now he’s back on the waiver wire after a less successful run with the Reds, and the math is simpler for Seattle: no prospects this time, just money, a roster spot and the willingness to accept the rougher stretches that come with his game.
Suárez is 35 now and has posted a .705 OPS over 103 games. He has spent more time at DH than at third base, but the power is still there - 19 home runs is 19 home runs. The strikeouts and the slipping defense are part of why he wasn’t a deadline prize for every contender.
For the Mariners, though, the appeal is obvious. He’s still a right-handed bat who can change a game with one mistake pitch, and that matters in a final-month chase.
Seattle entered Thursday at 64-70, a record that usually sends a team toward October golf plans. Instead, the Mariners are only 2 1/2 games back of Houston in the AL West and four games out of the final Wild Card spot.
Suárez already knows the room, the city, the park and the expectations that come with hitting in a Seattle lineup that could use another jolt. If the Mariners claim him, the job description should be pretty clear: DH at-bats, late-inning power and a little energy for a team that can’t afford to coast through September.
The feel-good angle would be a bonus. The real case is the baseball one: 19 homers, postseason experience and no prospect cost.
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