Eugenio Suárez deserves a fitting finish with the Reds no matter what comes next

When Eugenio Suárez returned to the Cincinnati Reds over the winter, hopes were high. The veteran slugger has always been a fan favorite (not just in Cincy, he's beloved everywhere he's played), but that was only part of the reason for the good vibes. The plan was for his power bat to thrive in one of the best ballparks for right-handed power — Great American Ball Park — giving the Reds the spark they desperately needed.

Not only were fans thinking that he'd make a positive impact on his own, but we thought he could send shockwaves throughout the lineup, most importantly helping Elly De La Cruz take his game to the next level and become the MVP-caliber player his skillset suggests he can be.

Reds fans just haven't seen it come together for the affable third baseman, who also struggled down the stretch last year with a .189/.255/.428 after being traded to the Seattle Mariners for his second stint with the club. That might have been a hint at what was to come.

Suárez battled a left oblique strain that cost him 25 games earlier this season. He's struggled on both sides of that injury and entered the All-Star break with a .208/.285/.388 line and 11 homers.

The Reds own a 43-52 record that's good for last place in the NL Central, and it's become clear that Cincinnati's best course of action is selling off their veteran free-agents-to-be at minimum by the August 3 deadline. Suárez has a mutual option for 2027, which, for all intents and purposes, means he'll be hitting the market again this winter, but he doesn't exactly fit in with the rest of the Reds' rental inventory.

If the Reds are truly going nowhere, then Eugenio Suárez deserves to go out on his own terms

There's little chance that anyone would trade for Suárez given his declining defense and offensive struggles. The 35-year-old has subtracted 0.7 fWAR from Cincy to date, meaning at best the Reds would have to attach a low-level prospect to move him in a salary dump kind of trade.

Suárez deserves better. He chose to come back to the Queen City and play in front of these fans, and while this is almost certainly his last season as a member of the Reds, he deserves to play it out.

In fact, letting Geno roll and soak up as much playing time might be the Reds' best course of action anyway.

Terry Francona, never one to have a bad word to say publicly about his players, still believes in Suárez. He spoke to reporters about the Venezuelan native on July 9, saying, "I still think he’s a guy that when he gets hot, he’ll carry us for a while; we just got to get him there.”

While it might not seem likely, there's a chance that Francona's right and Geno's about to heat up. Shortly after Francona made those comments, Suárez went 3-for-7 over his final two games before the break on July 11 and July 12, homering in both contests.

Should you bet on him finding his groove again once play resumes following the festivities in Philadelphia? Probably not, but there's a chance, and perhaps those two dingers could prove to be the catalyst that gets him going again. In turn, could he help the Reds put together a hot couple of weeks and climb back in the race before the deadline rolls around? Anything's possible.

But even if he can't and even if he turns back into a pumpkin, it means something. It means that Cincinnati is stuck in neutral this season, and no amount of hand-wringing will change that. If the Reds are truly out of it, then that means they have nothing to lose by letting Suárez play out the year. He deserves that rather than rotting on someone's bench, only to be broken out occasionally to maximize a platoon advantage against lefties.

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