The Return of Eugenio Suarez

Zack Fryman
50 minutes ago
3 min read

The Reds sign a familiar face and fan favorite to anchor 2026 lineup!

The slugging Suarez spent seven seasons with the Reds (2015-2021).

Reds fans: rejoice!

When the Reds fell short in the Kyle Schwarber sweepstakes, it felt like we were on track for a "well, we tried" and a carbon copy of the 2025 team. However, the Reds shocked the baseball world by going out and getting the 2nd biggest bat available in the free agent market. This summer, Reds fans at GABP will be pleased to once again hear seven of the sweetest syllables uttered by Joe Zerhusen in recent memory: Eugenio Suarez!

If Suarez retired today, he would be a surefire member of the Reds Hall of Fame one day down the road. Geno spent seven seasons with the Reds, hitting .253/.335/.476 with 189 HR and 524 RBI over that time. It is not often that a team has the chance to welcome back a player of this caliber after once parting ways. Make no mistake, this is a not a nostalgic reunion swan song tour. No, Suarez is the exact kind of player this team needed, and has needed since he left back in 2021.

Amazingly, the Reds have not had a player hit more than 25 home runs in a season since Suarez left the team. Frankly, someone should have been fired for this. Anyway, this team has truly lacked a cleanup hitter, and it really showed last season. With the likes of Austin Hays and Gavin Lux often filling the 4 hole, there was no protection in the lineup for Elly De La Cruz. The Reds were in the bottom 10 of all MLB teams in home runs and slugging percentage. It is safe to say this has been addressed.

Reds reportedly signed 3B/DH Eugenio Suarez to a 1 year, $15 million contract on Sunday.

In 2025, Suarez popped 49 home runs, matching his career high which he set with the Reds in his All Star season in 2019. He also had 118 RBI, which was his career high and 4th most in MLB (and more than Shohei Ohtani!). If he can even come close to these numbers, it will be a major boost for a Reds team that struggled to score runs last year. If you watched the Reds last year, the offense was painful to watch at times. Despite this, the team still squeaked into the playoffs, where the offense was over-matched by the Dodger pitching staff. Could this happen again? Sure, but the 2026 Reds will be more loaded with a true anchor in the middle of the lineup.

Potential Lineup?

One thing that talking heads and media personalities love to conjecture on after a move such as this is what the lineup might look like. The good news is that when you have a Hall of Fame manager calling the shots, these concerns are alleviated. We are confident Terry Francona will manage this team effectively. He knows far more than us, but we know for sure that the addition of Suarez changes the outlook of the team drastically. Suarez is a third baseman by trade, but this position will be held down by Gold Glover Ke'Bryan Hayes on most days. Geno has a handful of appearances at 1B, but this will be mainly manned by Spencer Steer and Sal Stewart. It has been reported that Suarez will take reps at first base in camp, but more likely than not, the Reds will have a daily, locked in DH.

We will not offer a full lineup prediction at this time, as we expect some sort of trade to happen before Spring Training kicks off. 👀 In the meantime, be excited! This is the best Reds news since the hiring of Terry Francona. With a stellar rotation, revamped bullpen, and a strong lineup, the 2026 season could be the most exciting in several years.

ON DECK