Reds rumors: Trading Eugenio Suárez would bring the most in return

Most fans won’t want to hear the latest Reds rumors involving Eugenio Suárez.

I know this is likely to make most Cincinnati fans angry, but if the latest Reds rumors are true, dealing Eugenio Suárez makes the most sense. MLB insider Jon Heyman recently reported that the Cincinnati Reds are open to listening to trade offers for Suárez, Mike Moustakas, and Nick Castellanos.

According to Heyman, the entire middle of the Cincinnati batting order seems to be on the trade block. In an effort to save money following the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, we’ve already seen the Reds trade Raisel Iglesias and non-tender Curt Casali, Brian Goodwin, and Archie Bradley. Those moves, in effect, saved Cincinnati about $15M heading into 2021.

Heyman is reporting, that while Moustakas and Castellanos are being made available, third baseman Eugenio Suárez has drawn the most interest. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, as Geno is an All-Star level infielder with power who’s signed to relatively inexpensive contract. Suárez is slated to make $43.5M over the next four seasons according to Spotrac.

Now, I find it highly unlikely that the Cincinnati Reds will actually trade Eugenio Suárez this offseason. To be quite frank, it wasn’t as if he had a terrific season. Geno hit just .202 last season and struck out in 67 of his 198 at-bats. Trading him while his value is low isn’t the best idea.

The same can be said for both Mike Moustakas and Nick Castellanos. Moustakas posted just a .230 batting average in 44 games and Castellanos had an on-base percentage below .300 while hitting just .225 in 2020. Both of last year’s free agent acquisitions come with heavy price tags as well.

If the Reds are really intent on trading Moustakas or Castellanos, they’ll likely not receive much in return or have to surrender a young, talented prospect in order to make a deal appealing for another franchise. Given that’s the case, if these Reds rumors are true and Cincinnati is looking to unload one of their better players, dealing Eugenio Suárez would bring back the most in return.

There are several teams who are likely to be interested in acquiring Geno, but the Reds are likely to have a big ask in return. Cincinnati would easily be able to gather two Top 100 prospects and then some for player of Suárez’s status with four years remaining on his contract.

If Cincinnati dealt Geno, Mike Moustakas could move back to his natural spot at third base and the Reds could turn to either Nick Senzel or Jonathan India at second base. There are many intriguing options for the Reds, but losing a fan-favorite like Eugenio Suárez would not be well received by the fanbase.