Eugenio Suárez hits grand slam in comeback win

Suárez being claimed by the Diamondbacks or Mariners would have made for a fun story, but instead he’ll finish out the regular season with the Reds. Neither club was willing to pick up approximately $3 million in salary for the 35-year-old slugger.

Suárez, a free agent at season’s end, has hit .208/.295/.410 with 19 homers and 57 RBI in 410 plate appearances and is a below average third baseman at this point, but some team might be willing to pick up the approximately $3 million he’s still owed in order to add his power. The Mariners and Diamondbacks are both very familiar with him, and the Phillies are short of right-handed power and have time available at both first and third. If Suárez goes unclaimed, he’ll presumably finish out the season as a regular with the Reds.

This appears to just be a routine day off for the WBC-winning third baseman. Michael Toglia is batting sixth and DHing in Suárez’s absence.

The Reds were held in check by Sandy Alcantara all night, but finally broke through in the sixth inning when Suárez ripped a double to left-center to bring in Tyler Stephenson for the lone run of the game. Suárez has now hit safely in three of his last four games while driving in six runs over that span.

Suárez’ home run was his 16th of the year. He hit a two-run shot off Nationals reliever Max Koranic in the sixth inning. Suárez’ home run accounted for the entirety of the Reds’ scoring on Saturday. His .300 wOBA is on pace to be the worst of his career. Suárez is hitting .204 with a .688 OPS and 43 RBI.

It looks to be just a routine day off for the 35-year-old slugger. Ke’Bryan Hayes will start in his place at the hot corner and will bat ninth for the Reds against Pirates’ right-hander Mitch Keller on Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati.

Suárez transformed a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 advantage with his 435-foot (110.5-mph EV) two-run blast off of George Soriano in the seventh inning. That proved to be the difference in the ballgame. With his two-hit attack, the 35-year-old slugger is now slashing .213/.285/.414 with 14 homers and 39 RBI in 291 plate appearances on the season.

Suárez smacked a one-out double off of Gabriel Hughes in the fourth inning, but he wound up being stranded there. He then clobbered a 415-foot (98.6-mph EV) solo shot off of Jimmy Herget in the sixth inning, going back-to-back with Spencer Steer to increase the Reds’ advantage to 4-1. On the season, the 34-year-old slugger is hitting a disappointing .213/.288/.406 with 12 home runs and 36 RBI.

Suárez was responsible for the only run of the game against a terrific Zack Wheeler and then the Philadelphia bullpen. It’s the ninth homer for the 34-year-old in his first season back with the Reds, and he’s plated 32 runs in the process. He also struck out in his other three at-bats, and saying Suárez hasn’t matched his magic of the 2025 season — particularly the first half — is quite the understatement.

Suárez returns to the hot corner and is hitting cleanup following a brief one-game absence after being hit by a pitch on the left hand over the weekend. The 34-year-old veteran slugger underwent imaging, including a CT scan, that didn’t reveal any fractures or structural damage. It’s a significant relief for Cincinnati, and fantasy managers, after a couple tense days of waiting.