{"id":873577,"date":"2026-08-27T17:38:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T17:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/873577\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T17:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T17:38:12","slug":"would-recently-waived-suarez-fit-on-blue-jays-roster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/873577\/","title":{"rendered":"Would recently waived Suarez fit on Blue Jays’ roster?"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014 Since the Blue Jays need power and a prominent slugger is available on waivers, a claim is worth considering at a time when every win matters in a crowded American League playoff race. But while the idea of adding Eugenio Su\u00e1rez<\/a> is initially intriguing, closer consideration will be required to determine if there\u2019s a real fit here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Wednesday night, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Reds had placed Su\u00e1rez and outfielder TJ Friedl on waivers. Like many teams, the Blue Jays are extremely thorough, considering dozens or perhaps hundreds of moves every season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With that in mind, they\u2019re sure to consider the likes of Su\u00e1rez, whose ninth-inning grand slam Wednesday helped the Reds come back and defeat the Giants. Here are some of the factors the Blue Jays would likely consider when evaluating Su\u00e1rez, who\u2019s now on waivers for a 48-hour period:<\/p>\n

Su\u00e1rez is a prototypical boom-or-bust slugger, having reached the 30-home-run plateau six times, including last year when he hit 49. His numbers have fallen off in 2026, with 19 home runs and a .705 OPS entering play Thursday, but he\u2019s playing his best baseball now with five home runs and an .862 OPS in August.<\/p>\n

A right-handed hitter, Su\u00e1rez has fared slightly better against left-handed pitching over the course of his career. This season, those splits are reversed, with a .715 \u00a0OPS and 15 of his 19 home runs against right-handers.<\/p>\n

Now 35, he’s mainly a designated hitter, though he has started 38 games at third for the Reds. He has barely played first at the MLB level, and while he came up as a shortstop, those days are clearly behind him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Su\u00e1rez is on a one-year, $15 million deal, meaning there’s approximately $2.5 million owed to him before he hits free agency at season\u2019s end. Technically speaking, his deal includes a mutual option for 2027, but there\u2019s no buyout on that option, and it\u2019s not expected to be exercised.<\/p>\n

As always, any player who joins a new organization before Sept. 1 is eligible to play for that team in the post-season.<\/p>\n

For a Blue Jays team that\u2019s clearly willing to spend, $2.5 million wouldn\u2019t stand in the way of getting a player they felt would make a difference. Nor are the Blue Jays opposed to claiming veterans in the hopes that they have something left, as Paul Sewald and Matt Waldron can attest. The question is, how would Su\u00e1rez work on this roster?<\/p>\n

Would he fit on the Blue Jays?<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays have shown interest in Su\u00e1rez before, including during the 2023-24 off-season following Matt Chapman\u2019s departure. But their roster looked different then, and so did Su\u00e1rez\u2019s skill set.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Focusing on the here and now, the Blue Jays could clearly use an offensive jolt. They rank 28th among the 30 MLB teams in home runs (125) and wRC+ (92) and 29th in runs scored (527). This is one of the league\u2019s worst offences \u2014 and Su\u00e1rez could help, especially if he\u2019s heating up. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Fitting a player like Su\u00e1rez into the Blue Jays\u2019 lineup isn\u2019t so simple, though. At DH, they have George Springer. At third base, there\u2019s Kazuma Okamoto. And yes, Okamoto can shift to first as needed, but that\u2019s where Vladimir Guerrero Jr. plays.<\/p>\n

Since Su\u00e1rez, Springer, Okamoto and Guerrero Jr. are all right-handed hitters, there\u2019s no obvious platoon to be found here either. On paper, then, the only role available is bench bat.<\/p>\n

Active rosters expand to 28 Tuesday, allowing the Blue Jays to carry another bench hitter. Internally, they\u2019ll have to weigh the contributions of outsiders like Su\u00e1rez against existing options like Davis Schneider and Sean Keys.<\/p>\n

Since the Blue Jays\u2019 40-man roster is full, someone would have to be cut to accommodate any outside addition. Conversely, no 40-man move is needed for Schneider or Keys.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s limited downside to acquiring Su\u00e1rez as a bench bat or injury insurance policy as rosters expand, but as of now, there\u2019s no clear fit for regular at-bats. More than anything else, the Blue Jays need their existing hitters to turn it up in the final month. And if there\u2019s any quality pitching on waivers, that\u2019d fit this team\u2019s needs rather neatly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 Since the Blue Jays need power and a prominent slugger is available on waivers, a claim…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":873578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-873577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/873578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}