Eugenio Suárez

Eugenio Suárez
Suárez with the Cincinnati Reds in 2016
Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 28
Third baseman / Shortstop
Born: (1991-07-18) July 18, 1991 (age 33)
Puerto Ordaz, Bolívar, Venezuela
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 4, 2014, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.248
Hits1,300
Home runs276
Runs batted in831
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Eugenio Alejandro Suárez (born July 18, 1991) is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, and Seattle Mariners. Suárez signed with the Tigers as an amateur free agent in 2008 and made his MLB debut with the team in 2014. He was traded to the Reds following the 2014 season and was an MLB All-Star in 2018. After seven seasons with Cincinnati, Suárez was traded to the Mariners, whom he spent two seasons with before being traded to the Diamondbacks.

Career

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Detroit Tigers

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Suárez originally signed with the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent on October 9, 2008. He played for the Venezuelan Summer League Tigers in 2009 and 2010. He played for the Gulf Coast Tigers of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and the Connecticut Tigers of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League in 2011, and the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Class A Midwest League in 2012.[1] With the Whitecaps, he had a .288 batting average and 21 stolen bases in 135 games.

He started the 2013 season with the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League and was promoted to the Erie SeaWolves of the Class AA Eastern League during the season.[2][3] He was added to the Tigers' 40-man roster on November 20, 2013.[4]

Suárez with the Detroit Tigers in 2014

Suarez began the 2014 season with Erie, and was promoted to the Toledo Mud Hens of the Class AAA International League in May.[5][6] Suárez was brought up to Detroit for the first time on June 4,[7] and entered that night's game in the seventh inning. In his first at-bat, he reached base via a fielder's choice. On June 7, Suarez made his first major league start in a game against the Boston Red Sox, and recorded his first hit, a solo home run.[8] He finished his rookie season with a .242 batting average, with 4 home runs and 23 RBIs in 85 games.

Cincinnati Reds

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On December 11, 2014, the Tigers traded Suárez and minor league pitcher Jonathon Crawford to the Cincinnati Reds for starting pitcher Alfredo Simón.[9][10] On June 11, 2015, he became the Reds' regular starting shortstop after Zack Cozart's season-ending injury.[11] He finished the 2015 season with a .284 batting average, with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs, and was second among NL shortstops in errors, with 19.[12] With the Todd Frazier trade to the Chicago White Sox, the Reds announced Suárez would be moved to third base full-time, with Zack Cozart returning to shortstop after his stint on the disabled list.

In 2016, Suárez hit 21 home runs and drove in 70 runs while hitting .248 and striking out 155 times (8th in the league).[12] On defense, he led the major leagues in errors, with 23.[13] In 2017, he hit 26 home runs and drove in 82 runs while batting .260.

On March 16, 2018, Suárez signed a seven-year $66 million contract with the Reds.[14] Batting .315 with 19 home runs and 68 RBIs, he was named to the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.[15] Suárez finished the season leading the team with 34 home runs and 104 RBIs, and leading all NL third basemen in errors, with 19.[12] On September 10, 2018, he was selected for the MLB All-Stars at the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series.[16]

In 2019, Suárez played 159 games, finishing with a .271 batting average, 49 home runs (2nd in the NL), 103 RBIs (10th), and struck out an MLB-leading 189 times while leading all NL third basemen in errors, with 17.[12] His 49 homers set new single season records for both NL third basemen and Venezuelan-born players.[17][18] He led the National League in pull percentage (52.0%), and made contact with the lowest percentage of pitches he swung at outside the strike zone (44.2%) of all NL batters.[19][20] In October 2019, Suárez was awarded the Luis Aparicio Award, which is given annually to a Venezuelan player in Major League Baseball (MLB) who is judged to have recorded the best individual performance in that year.[21][22]

On January 28, 2020, it was revealed that Suárez underwent right shoulder surgery to remove torn, loose cartilage, an injury that occurred during a swimming pool mishap at his residence in Pinecrest, Florida.[23] He had injured his shoulder when he dove head-first into the shallow part of his home's pool and hit the bottom of the pool.[24][25] During the shortened 2020 season, Suárez hit .202/.312/.470 with 15 home runs and 38 RBIs in 57 games, and was fourth among NL third basemen in errors, with five.[12]

In 2021, Suárez's batting average fell to .169 through the first five months of the season. Despite a resurgence in September and October in which he batted .370, he finished the 2021 season with a .198 average and 171 strikeouts (3rd in the league). He also recorded 31 home runs and 79 RBIs. On defense, he was in the bottom 2% of major leaguers in "outs above average."[26]

Seattle Mariners

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On March 14, 2022, the Reds traded Suárez and Jesse Winker to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Justin Dunn, Jake Fraley, Brandon Williamson, and a player to be named later, later announced to be Connor Phillips.[27][28] The transaction was a cost-cutting measure that saved the franchise just under $36 million but was unpopular with Reds fans.[29] On July 8, he hit his first career walk-off home run in a 5–2 extra-innings win over the Toronto Blue Jays. On September 7, he recorded his 1000th career hit with a 2-run home run off Chicago White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech. On September 11, Suárez homered twice in an 8–7 win over the Atlanta Braves, helping to atone for a blown 4-run lead in the top of the 9th by taking Kenley Jansen deep for a walk-off solo shot.

In 2022, he batted .236/.332/.459 with a league-leading 196 strikeouts, as he was fourth among league third basemen in errors, with 10.[12] He played 130 games at third base, 19 at DH, and appeared in 3 as a pinch hitter.[30]

In 2023, he played in all 162 games for Seattle and batted .232/.323/.391 with a league-leading 214 strikeouts and a league-leading 11 sacrifice flies.[31][32]

Arizona Diamondbacks

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On November 22, 2023, the Mariners traded Suárez to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for reliever Carlos Vargas and catcher Seby Zavala.[33]

Personal life

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Suarez and his wife, Génesis, have two daughters together and reside in Pinecrest, Florida.[34]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jones, Emily (July 25, 2012). "Whitecaps shortstop becoming top Tigers prospect". Mlive.com. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  2. ^ Lowe, John (March 8, 2013). "Tigers' Eugenio Suarez leaves big impression on Jim Leyland with his glovework". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  3. ^ Martin, Jim (May 5, 2013). "Suarez makes impact for Erie SeaWolves". Goerie.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  4. ^ "Tigers purchase contracts of seven players". Detroit.tigers.mlb.com. November 20, 2013. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  5. ^ Lowe, John (May 22, 2014). "SS help in the future? Detroit Tigers promote Eugenio Suarez to Toledo". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  6. ^ "Detroit Tigers infield prospect Eugenio Suarez promoted from Double-A Erie to Triple-A Toledo". May 21, 2014.
  7. ^ "Tigers call up Suarez to boost shortstop spot". MLB.com. June 4, 2014. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014.
  8. ^ Iott, Christ (June 7, 2014). "Shortstop Eugenio Suarez hits solo home run for Detroit Tigers in first major league start". Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  9. ^ "Tigers obtain Alfredo Simon from Reds". USA Today. Associated Press. December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  10. ^ Beck, Jason (December 11, 2014). "In separate deals, Tigers land Cespedes, Simon". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  11. ^ Fay, John (June 12, 2015). "Reds will miss more than Zack Cozart's glove, bat". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "Eugenio Suárez Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.
  13. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2016 » All Positions » Fielding Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball". www.fangraphs.com.
  14. ^ Fay, John. "Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez proves that it can pay ($66 million) to be a good guy". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  15. ^ Staff, WLWT Digital (July 8, 2018). "Votto, Gennett, Suarez selected for 2018 MLB National League All-Star Team". WLWT.
  16. ^ "Eight Players Selected for Japan All-Star Series". The Official Site of Major League Baseball Players Association. September 10, 2018. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  17. ^ Nightengale, Bobby (December 17, 2019). "Eugenio Suárez sets NL third baseman HR record as Milwaukee Brewers clinch playoff spot". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  18. ^ "Batting Season & Career Finder: For Single Seasons, Born in Venezuela, From 1871 to 2020, (requiring HR>=40), sorted by greatest Home Runs". Stathead. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  19. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2019 » Batters » Plate Discipline Statistics". Fangraphs. January 1, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  20. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2019 » Batters » Batted Ball Statistics". Fangraphs. January 1, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  21. ^ "Eugenio Suárez Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  22. ^ Sheldon, Mark (October 23, 2019). "Suárez named top Venezuelan MLB player in '19". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  23. ^ "Eugenio Suárez has right shoulder surgery". MLB. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  24. ^ "Suarez's shoulder still on mend after pool mishap". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 3, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  25. ^ "Suárez working to get his shoulder healed after pool mishap". dayton-daily-news. Associated Press.
  26. ^ "Eugenio Suárez Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | MLB.com". baseballsavant.com.
  27. ^ "Mariners Acquire INF Eugenio Suárez & OF Jesse Winker from Cincinnati". March 14, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  28. ^ "Mariners Send Minor League RHP Connor Phillips To Cincinnati as PTBNL in Suárez-Winker Trade". March 29, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  29. ^ Blackburn, Sam. "Reds fans know trading good players in prime to cut payroll isn't way to win," Times Recorder (Zanesville, OH), Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  30. ^ "Eugenio Suárez Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More".
  31. ^ "Major League Leaderboards - 2023 - Batting". FanGraphs Baseball.
  32. ^ "Major League Leaderboards - 2023 - Batting". FanGraphs Baseball.
  33. ^ Gilbert, Steve (November 22, 2023). "Eugenio Suárez traded to D-backs". MLB.com. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  34. ^ "Eugenio Suárez Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
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