If a team is looking for power, third baseman Eugenio Suarez fits the bill and then some.
Last season, which Suarez split between the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks, he uncorked 49 home runs and posted a .526 slugging percentage. Suarez would be a great fit in Seattle for the foreseeable future, as the 34-year-old would fill a position of need for a Mariners team that was one win away from reaching their first-ever World Series.
However, any team in need of a third baseman will likely see what it costs to sign Suarez. And with that, here are the three best free agent fits for Suarez should he depart Seattle.
Eugenio Suarez is a two-time All-Star. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
In theory, the Yankees’ 2026 starting lineup comes internally from one-to-nine, assuming that they re-sign one of outfielders Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham. But that lineup doesn’t have to be written with a Sharpie; Suarez would be a high-voltage pickup for New York.
Excluding the 2020 MLB season, Suarez has averaged 35.1 home runs per season over the last seven years. He would add another impact bat to a Yankees’ offense that led MLB with 274 home runs last season and be an overall upgrade at third base.
So, why make a move at third base? New York appears married to Anthony Volpe at shortstop, with Jose Caballero pushing him; Jazz Chisholm Jr. is the everyday second baseman; Ben Rice likely replaces Paul Goldschmidt at first base. Sure, Ryan McMahon is due $32 million over the next two seasons and is a great third baseman. At the same time, he hit just .214 last season and has extensive experience starting at second base, too. Suarez can take over at third base with McMahon moving into a utility role.
All that said, the Yankees may refrain from backing up the truck for Suarez, instead preferring to get a third baseman who hasn’t entered their prime (Munetaka Murakami?) or at least one with a better defensive track record (Suarez posted -6 DRS at third base last season) should they entertain upgrading from McMahon.
Eugenio Suarez spent the first season of his MLB career with the Tigers (2014). (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Suarez is precisely what the 2026 Tigers need, and they don’t have to trade any prospects to get him.
Detroit shuffled several players at third base last season, including Zach McKinstry, Colt Keith and Andy Ibanez, among others. Signing Suarez would end the ever-fluid situation for the Tigers at the hot corner. Suarez, who ranked in the 89th percentile of MLB in barrel percentage last season (14.3%), would not only give the Mariners a proven third baseman but also a right-handed hitter with mammoth power.
While Detroit’s offense was a plausible unit, it ranked eighth out of 12 playoff teams in slugging percentage (.413). Suarez would fill a loose end and concurrently provide a power jolt to an offense that’s ready to roll. A lineup that features Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Spencer Torkelson and Suarez is one that would be one of the best power units in MLB. Suarez fits the Tigers’ timeline, as they’ve made the playoffs in back-to-back years and are coming off a grueling, first-round playoff series loss to the Mariners.
So, why isn’t Detroit the No. 1 team for Suarez?
Eugenio Suarez has hit 49 home runs in a single season twice (2019 and 2025). (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said that the Pirates have “more flexibility than [they’ve] had in other offseasons.” It’s time for the Pirates to put their money where their mouth is.
Last season, Pittsburgh was last in MLB in runs (583), home runs (117) and slugging percentage (.350), and 28th in hits (1,244). In summation, the Pirates’ positional depth chart needs help across the board. Suarez would be a firm solution at third base for the coming years, adding a proven commodity to the corner infield position and desperately needed power.
The Pirates would likely have to be the top bidder for Suarez and make a concerted effort to improve their roster elsewhere to convince the veteran third baseman to hop aboard, but he’d fill a void and represent a step in the right direction. As for the rest of their infield, the Pirates could objectively hope that one of infielders Nick Gonzales – the No. 7 pick in the 2020 MLB Draft – and Jared Triolo come into their own. But if Pittsburgh’s offense could be a middle-of-the-pack unit, it would have a fighting chance at being a wild-card team.
Paul Skenes is arguably the best starting pitcher in baseball, but Pittsburgh’s starting rotation goes well beyond just the 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner. Last season, the Pirates’ starting rotation was sixth in ERA (3.71) and tied for sixth in WHIP (1.19). Mike Burrows and Carmen Mlodzinski flashed the potential to be rotation fixtures; esteemed pitching prospect Bubba Chandler made his big-league debut; Mitch Keller is a solid, rotation fixture; the Pirates selected right-hander Seth Hernandez with the No. 6 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft; prior to suffering a torn UCL, right-hander Jared Jones showcased the ability to be a strikeout pitcher and top-of-the-rotation force in 2024.
If now isn’t the time for the Pirates, who haven’t had a winning season since 2018, to spend and make a jump, then when is?
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