Getty Images
Diamondbacks All-Star third baseman Eugenio Suárez is probably the most coveted trade candidate right now with the MLB trade deadline less than two weeks away (July 31). He homered twice on the Saturday before the All-Star break, homered twice again Saturday night and, sure enough, homered twice again on Sunday, driving home four runs in a 5-3 Diamondbacks win.
He is now hitting .257/.328/.601 and leads the NL with 35 homers and 85 RBI. He’s legitimately one of the best power hitters in the majors and this isn’t some small-sample fluke, because we’ve seen him hit 49 homers in a season before (2019) and this is his sixth 30-plus home run season.
Given that he’s a free agent after this year, Suárez would make sense as a trade candidate. Not only that, but there are some high-profile contenders with a need at third base. We’re not talking upstart contenders who might be shy to buy, either. We’re talking about teams trying hard to win the World Series this season like the Yankees (a gaping hole), Cubs (rookie Matt Shaw has a sub-.600 OPS in the majors this year) and Mets (Mark Vientos probably needs to stay at DH while Ronny Mauricio has yet to prove he belongs). The Dodgers could justify jumping into the bidding and the Brewers would surely love to have Suárez, too. On and on we could go.
Since Rafael Devers‘ deal to San Francisco wasn’t a little too early to count, Suárez sure seems like the top position player who will be moved at the deadline this year.
But wait. Suárez has been playing so well that he’s helping the Diamondbacks keep a pulse in the playoff race. Is 4 ½ games out of the last wild-card spot too close to sell? SportsLine gives them 17.7% odds to make the postseason. I’m sure there a lot of D-backs fans who remember making the World Series from that playoff spot and don’t want to pull the plug on this season. The players just won four straight to climb back to .500 at 50-50. Does general manager Mike Hazen really want to pull the proverbial rug out from under these guys? He’s recently said that he does not want to do that, but GMs say a lot of things.
It’s a great storyline to watch in the coming days. Do the D-backs keep winning? If they do, the teams after Suárez will probably have to pivot to a much lesser third baseman like Ryan McMahon. Or is it enough of a seller’s market that Arizona should plow ahead regardless? If the Diamondbacks hit a bad losing streak, the front office will be able to hold a bidding war for the services of Suárez and he might well help win someone else a World Series this year.