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The Seattle Mariners have shipped Eugenio Suarez to the NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks. In return, Arizona sends relief pitcher Carlos Vargas and catcher Seby Zavala to Seattle in the first major trade of the offseason.
ESPN reporter Jeff Passan said on X, (formerly Twitter):
"Trade news, per ESPN sources: Arizona Diamondbacks acquire third baseman Eugenio Suarez. Seattle Mariners acquire reliever Carlos Vargas and catcher Seby Zavala. Diamondbacks get their third baseman. Mariners move money off the books and get a live arm and backup catcher."
Eugenio Suarez was the starting third baseman in Seattle for a while, and he's headed to the Diamondbacks, who have expressed interest in a third baseman to round out their roster.
Despite the surprising World Series trip, the Diamondbacks were not pleased with coming up short and have kickstarted the hot stove with one of the biggest moves of the offseason thus far.
Eugenio Suarez traded over to Diamondbacks
Eugenio Suarez came over to the Mariners from the Cincinnati Reds in the 2022 season and made an immediate impact. For starters, the team broke its longstanding playoff drought and he recorded 4.1 fWAR.
Now, he will look to replicate that in Arizona with a brand new, young team. The issue with Suarez wasn't that he was bad. In fact, despite a less-than-expected offensive season in 2023, he was a good player.
He recorded a 130 wRC+ in 2022, so his offensive prowess was still there. That led to a 4.1 fWAR season in 150 games. In 20243, his offense dipped to the tune of a 102 wRC+, which is still above league average. He recorded 3.2 fWAR and played every game for the Mariners.
The issue was the contract, as Suarez was making $11 million from the Mariners. The Diamondbacks feel like he does more than enough to answer a question on their roster, and they sent a backup catcher and a relief pitcher to prove it.
In this trade, the Mariners free up cap space and the Diamondbacks fill a perceived hole.
