The slugger is one of the biggest bats in free agency, could the A’s be a sleeper team to land him?
Coming off a mid-season trade, and then a playoff run with the Seattle Mariners, veteran slugger Eugenio Suárez is now entering free agency as one of the top power bats on the market. Not only will his bat be attractive to many teams, but he could be an option to fill the A’s hole at third base.
Suarez started his 2025 campaign in Arizona, where he hit 36 long balls and an .897 OPS in 387 at-bats. As it became clear that the Diamondbacks wouldn’t be in playoff contention, the club elected to deal Suarez to the Mariners, the team he spent his 2022 and 2023 seasons with.
However, his super-hot start wouldn’t last the whole season, as he’d finish with a .189 batting average and a .682 OPS with 13 home runs in his time with Seattle. However, Suarez would turn up during the ALCS, as he posted a .956 OPS and two homers in 26 at-bats during that series.
One of the many reasons that the A’s could be a sleeper fit to land Eugenio Suarez is the stadium situation. Clearly, Suarez hit well in Arizona, then went to a pitcher-friendly home field in Seattle, which is notoriously a tough place to hit. If Suarez played all of his games in Sutter Health Park last season, he would’ve hit 57 home runs.
If the A’s were able to convince Suarez to come play in their minor league ballpark, he’d join a lineup that already has some power, headlined by the Rookie of the Year and Silver Slugger, Nick Kurtz. If Kurtz and Suarez played in West Sacramento for all of their games last season, they would’ve had a combined 97 home runs.
Imagine if we got to see lineups where Kurtz and Suarez batted back-to-back. It would be dangerous for opposing pitchers to pitch to either of them, and then you add in the power of Brent Rooker, Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom, the A’s could have one of the scariest lineups in the league.
Luring in free agents to play in a minor league stadium surely won’t be easy. The team was able to overpay Luis Severino last offseason, and it might take the same tactic to land another free agent this offseason.
Some teams could turn away when they look at Suarez’s high strikeout rate and low batting average. This could mean teams aren’t willing to hand him the $20-25 million per year that he’s projected to get, meaning it shouldn’t cost the A’s too much extra if they wanted to sign him.
Suarez is also currently 34, meaning he could be on a decline sooner than later, so handing him a 3-year deal might not make sense for a lot of teams. If the A’s offered Suarez a 2-3 year deal worth around $24 million per year, he’d at the very least listen if not sign on, especially if he sees the numbers he could put up playing in Sacramento.
There’s a good chance the A’s would rather hand that kind of money to sign a premium starter to add to the rotation. However, they could look in the trade market to add a starter and use the money towards a bat that could really make their offense one of the best in the league.
