The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired third baseman Eugenio Suárez in a trade with the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, Mark Feinsand of MLB reported. Arizona sent catcher Seby Zavala and right-handed pitcher Carlos Vargas to Seattle in the deal.
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Suárez is signed through the 2024 season with a club option for 2025. The 32-year-old is coming off a fairly pedestrian season with the bat, hitting .232 with a .714 OPS and a strikeout rate over 30%. Thanks to his defense, he still put up a respectable 3.2 fWAR.
He was one of the best offensive third basemen in baseball from 2017-2019, culminating in a 2019 campaign where he hit 49 homers, posted a .930 OPS and placed 15th in MVP voting. He had a strong 2022 season as well, but took a step back in his production in 2023.
The Diamondbacks, after surprising everybody with a deep playoff run, are clearly trying to stay competitive with a move like this. They needed a third baseman, especially with the aging Evan Longoria‘s contract expiring. Suarez’s best days might be behind him, but he still has the potential to add some thump to the lineup.
Zavala is a below-average-hitting, defensive-minded backup catcher, while Vargas is a 24-year-old who debuted in 2023. He posted a 5.79 ERA in a small, 4 2/3-inning sample, but he’s a hard thrower who could certainly pan out to be somebody with the Mariners.
In what’s been a slow start to the offseason, this is one of the more notable trades that’s gone down. The rest of the week is likely to stay stagnant with Thanksgiving coming up, but the pace could pick up in a hurry with the winter meetings approaching.
