Eugenio Suarez and the Cincinnati Reds have agreed to a $15 million, one-year contract, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Sunday night.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal is pending a medical review and has not yet been announced.
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Suarez is the top slugger remaining on the free agent market, and the two-time All-Star returns to Cincinnati where he played seven seasons. From 2015 to 2021, he hit 189 home runs for the Reds, including 49 in 2019.
The move gives the Reds the proven power hitter they’ve been looking for all offseason. Suarez, 34, has been a third baseman for most of his 12-year major league career and is expected to be Cincinnati’s primary designated hitter and could play some games at third or first base.
The team’s Gold Glove winner Ke’Bryan Hayes is No. 3 and highly regarded prospect Sal Stewart could be No. 1.
The Reds were one of many teams interested in Suarez at last year’s trade deadline, but they didn’t want to give up a key prospect. On July 31, he was traded to Seattle from Arizona and ranked fifth in the majors with 49 home runs and fourth with 118 RBIs. His overall batting average was .228 and his OPS was .824.
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The Mariners lost the American League Championship Series to Toronto and fell one win short of reaching their first World Series. Suarez hit two home runs in Game 5, including an eighth-inning grand slam.
Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati has averaged 2.67 home runs since it opened in 2003. This is the second-highest home run rate among major league ballparks that have hosted at least 1,200 games.
Suarez was traded to Seattle by the Reds during spring training in 2022. He spent two seasons with the Mariners before being traded to the Diamondbacks.
Suarez broke into the majors in 2014 with Detroit. He was a .246 career hitter with 325 homers, 949 RBIs and a .792 OPS.
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
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Associated Press MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
