GOODYEAR, Arizona – Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona was just about to leave his home in Tucson, Arizona, to drive the 135 miles for the start of spring training when he got the news of Eugenio Suárez’s signing.
Francona quickly called team president Nick Krall. “I said, ‘I’m going to get up and run to Goodyear,’ ” Francona said
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“I mean, everybody got fired up.”
Eugenio Suárez
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Suárez hadn’t even shown up to camp yet as pitchers and catchers reported this week in Arizona. But he was the topic of the most conversation and greatest buzz as this year of higher expectations for the team gets underway – mostly because he’s one of the biggest reasons for those higher expectations.
“What he can do for this lineup would be huge,” said starting pitcher Rhett Lowder – another projected impact addition this year as he returns healthy from missing all of last year with elbow and oblique injuries.
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“I’m excited to meet him,” Lowder said. “It was super fun watching him play last year and obviously with what he’s done – I’m fired up.”
Suárez hit 49 home runs last year, matching his 2019 career high during his seven-year stretch with the Reds before being traded to Seattle four years ago.
That kind of power — that kind of mere threat in the middle of the lineup – was the single greatest deficit the Reds experienced last year as they rode their stellar starting rotation and back-end bullpen performance to the final playoff berth in the National League.
The last time they had a player hit even 30 home runs was the last year Suárez was on the team, when he was one of three who hit that many in 2021.
“Obviously there’s no secret that homers are a big part of today’s game,” said closer Emilo Pagán, who touted Suárez’s potential impact not only on the lineup but also for a well known charisma and clubhouse presence that has made him a favorite of teammates and fans in his career.
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Like anything else in baseball, there are no guarantees with the best-laid plans and roster execution of a front office, Pagán said.
“But on paper, I don’t think you can add a better fit,” he said. “Somebody who’s comfortable in our organization, has a great relationship with everybody that’s here, wants to be here – which is a huge part of it – wants to come help this team take another step forward and hopefully win a World Series championship this year. You add in all that with the caliber of player he is, I don’t think there is a better fit.”
Maybe as good a fit as Middletown slugger Kyle Schwarber? The perfect-fit home run champ and clubhouse influencer the Reds made a five-year, $125 million offer to this winter?
“You know truth be told – I don’t want to ever be remotely disrespectful to Schwarber because I don’t feel that way – but getting a guy almost on a shorter deal for us might be better,” Francona said. “Talking to Schwarber, just talking to him, you can see why people love him so much. But for us, this was real good.”
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The Reds landed Suárez for $15 million on a one-year deal, with a $16 million mutual option for 2027.
And even that took an 11th-hour conversation with ownership during the negotiations, with the Castellinis stretching the payroll budget to make it work.
Francona wasn’t part of the front office’s pitch to ownership.
“I don’t need to be. I never need to be,” the manager said, adding that he did have one conversation with Bob Castellini about it:
“I did call Bob when we signed him because, damn, I was fired up. And I wanted him to know I appreciated it.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Eugenio Suárez buzz dominates Cincinnati Reds start of spring training