Eugenio Suárez posted his biggest hit of the season Wednesday for the Cincinnati Reds, which turned out to come with some interesting timing.
The hit was a ninth-inning grand slam that scored the majority of the Reds’ six-run comeback against the San Francisco Giants, their largest comeback since 1958, per MLB.com. The homer cut a five-run deficit to just one, with the Reds eventually winning 10-9 to avoid a sweep.
It was a cathartic win for a team that has been moribund for most of the season. Then, hours after the game, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that the team placed Suárez on outright waivers, along with outfielder TJ Friedl. It’s unclear if the Reds made the move before, during or after the game.
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The move is a clear attempt at cost-cutting for the Reds. Outright waivers essentially means Cincinnati is inviting any of MLB’s 29 other teams to take on the remainder of Suárez’s one-year, $15 million contract.
If a team claims the 35-year-old Suárez in the next 48 hours, it will be on the hook for a little less than $3 million, freeing the Reds from that obligation. If he goes unclaimed, he and his contract will remain with the organization unless it designates him for assignment, a scenario in which they would still have to pay him.
The latter scenario is more likely. After a 49-homer season in 2025, Suárez has struggled in his return to the Reds, slashing .205/.294/.402 with only 19 homers and rough defensive numbers at third base. He also spent a month on the injured list with an oblique strain early in the season. The Reds reportedly made both him and Friedl available at the trade deadline and received little interest.
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Neither player is reportedly expected to return to Cincinnati for 2027.
It’s all merely another sign of the Reds’ struggles this year. They entered the season with playoff hopes after earning a wild-card berth last year with an 83-79 record, but they now sit at 63-71 after Wednesday. They are nine games out of the final NL wild-card spot, giving them little reason to try for the final month of the regular season.
