The D-backs have officially chosen a lane and are heading down a seller’s trajectory. First baseman
Josh Naylor is already on his way to the Mariners for a pair of pitching prospects, but it’s third baseman
Eugenio Suárez and his thunderous power output that have captivated fans of contenders for much of deadline season. The 33-year-old, earning $15MM in the final year of his contract, is hitting .252/.325/.593 with 36 home runs on the season — including 21 round-trippers dating back to June 1 (a span of 179 plate appearances.
Even after the Mariners landed Naylor, they remain in the mix for Suárez, per multiple reports from the Seattle beat (
link via Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 770 AM). Naylor cost the Mariners two well-regarded pitching prospects — lefty
Brandyn Garcia and righty
Ashton Izzi — but left the upper tiers of a Seattle farm system that’s arguably the best in baseball untouched. Earlier in the week, Suárez was reported to be the Mariners’ top deadline target. Adding Naylor, it seems, will not put an end to that existing pursuit.
They’ll face steep competition, however, It’s known that in addition to the Mariners, each of the Reds, Cubs and Yankees have some level of interest in the Arizona third baseman. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, as
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM reported earlier today that as many as a dozen teams have at least looked into the possibility of adding Suárez to their lineup.
That includes at least one division rival.
Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports that in the wake of a serious injury to
Isaac Paredes, the Astros have joined the bidding for Suárez. Houston has some hurdles in their path to landing the coveted D-backs slugger, however. Owner Jim Crane has been loath to cross the luxury tax threshold for what would be a second straight season. Adding Suárez would put them into tax territory unless the ’Stros shed payroll elsewhere or convince the Snakes to pay down his salary. Houston also does not have as strong a farm system as many of the teams against which they’d be bidding.
Whether it’s Suárez or another bat, the Astros’ priorities seem to have shifted. General manager Dana Brown suggested earlier in the summer that pitching would be his primary focus. Now, with Paredes shelved indefinitely and
Yordan Alvarez’s recovery from a hand fracture dragging out,
Brown tells Chandler Rome of The Athletic that his primary focus is on adding to its lineup. The Astros have several starters on the mend, including
Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia,
Spencer Arrighetti,
J.P. France and
Lance McCullers Jr. It seems they’ll hope for some internal reinforcements to support co-aces
Hunter Brown and
Framber Valdez and instead aim to use their limited financial and prospect resources to augment the offense.
With that number of teams at least on the periphery of the market, it can be presumed that most contenders have at least put out some feelers. One team that notably is
not in the running,
per the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, is the Mets — at least for the moment. Despite a rotating cast of characters on the infield this year —
Brett Baty,
Mark Vientos,
Ronny Mauricio and
Luisangel Acuña have all seen time around the infield but struggled to varying extents — the Mets’ main focus has been and remains
upgrading the bullpen.
That said,
SNY’s Andy Martino suggests that if the Mets use that infield depth to add to the bullpen or rotation (which they’re
reportedly willing to do), they could at least consider the idea of pursuing Suárez to take over at the hot corner. The Mets haven’t been keen on parting with top prospects for rental players, but the D-backs have been scouting their Double-A club, in particular, with an eye toward potential Suárez packages, per Martino.
There’s no immediate indication that a Suárez trade will come together quickly on the heels of the Naylor swap, but the very fact that Naylor is on his way out the door serves as a clear indicator that any combination of Suárez,
Zac Gallen and
Merrill Kelly — at the very least — could be on the move in the next week. The D-backs also have rental relievers
Jalen Beeks and
Shelby Miller as trade candidates (Miller is on the injured list but has resumed throwing), and outfielder
Randal Grichuk has a mutual option that won’t be exercised by both parties.
