Eugenio Suarez, one of the most popular players in the last five years of Seattle Mariners baseball, is returning back to Cincinnati after coming to terms on a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon.

Jeff Passan of ESPN had the information on social media:

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Slugger Eugenio Suárez and the Cincinnati Reds are in agreement on a one-year, $15 million contract that includes a mutual option for the 2027 season, sources tell ESPN. The best bat left on the market goes to Cincinnati, where he’s expected to get most of his at-bats at DH.

Suarez previously played for the Reds, becoming one of the best sluggers in baseball before being traded to the Mariners before the 2022 season. He helped Seattle get to the playoffs in 2022 and again in 2025, when he was re-acquired in a different trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Now 34, Suarez is one of the best power hitters in the game. He had 49 home runs last season between the Diamondbacks and Mariners, and he drove in 118 runs. He instantly upgrades the middle of any team’s lineup.

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Power like that doesn’t grow on trees, but it comes with a price: Suarez is extremely streaky, and he hit just .228 overall in 2025 (only .189 with the Mariners). He had just a .298 on-base percentage and he struck out 196 times.

He did hit a grand slam in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, which is one of the biggest hits in team history. He’s also extremely well-liked in Seattle.

While he has his warts, he should be a massive power threat for the Reds in the hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park.

The Mariners said they kept tabs on his market earlier in this offseason, but Jerry Dipoto recently threw cold water on the idea of bringing him back.

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The M’s seem committed to giving Colt Emerson and Ben Williamson a chance to win the third base job in spring training and then rolling with the Dominic Canzone/Luke Raley and Victor Robles/Rob Refsnyder right field/designated hitter pairings.

Of course, the M’s can still go and acquire Brendan Donovan, as we’ve discussed all offseason.

The Mariners have somewhere in the neighborhood of $10-20 million remaining to spend this offseason, so they could have matched this offer, but perhaps they feel they’d rather save their money for another move. Maybe that’s Donovan, or maybe it’s saving it for the trade deadline like they did last season, when they acquired Suarez and Josh Naylor from the Diamondbacks, and Caleb Ferguson from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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