Eugenio Suárez is quietly putting pressure on Reds to make a bold move

When the Cincinnati Reds acquired Ke'Bryan Hayes at last year's trade deadline, they knew they'd be sacrificing some offense to dramatically improve the defense. When they signed Eugenio Suárez over the offseason, the move was all about hitting.

It would be lovely if Hayes could revert to his 101 wRC+ form from 2023, but after watching the Pittsburgh Pirates hope and wish for that to happen, the Reds should have known better. Still, his defense is so incredibly elite that even an offensive performance that is 20% below league average would still have him as a net-positive overall.

However, those days seem to be gone as well. Hayes posted a wRC+ of 60 in 2024 and followed up with a mark of 65 last season. Now, even that seems like a dream. Through April 19, Hayes is slashing .060/.130/.060, which translates to a "there's no way this could be real" -48 wRC+. No amount of defensive wizardry can make that viable.

The thing is, Hayes isn't the only player capable of manning the hot corner, and while Suárez doesn't have the same defensive ceiling, rumors of his demise are much exaggerated, as he showed Friday night against the Minnesota Twins.

The Reds must consider benching Ke'Bryan Hayes in favor of Eugenio Suárez

After robbing Luke Keaschall and turning a double play in the fifth, Suarez was at it again, denying Keaschall with a sliding stab in the seventh. It was an impressive showing for a guy the Reds once considered making a part-time first baseman in part due to defensive concerns playing the hot corner.

Suarez has never been at Hayes' level defensively, but in his prime, he was a plus glove at third for years. With him turning 35 on July 18, the conventional wisdom was that age had eroded his defensive abilities past the point of usefulness, aside from the occasional appearance to give Hayes a rest.

That's not entirely true. Geno was a positive with the glove as recently as 2024, when he posted 3 outs above average. It might not be on par with the 20-ish OAA Hayes is good for, but the offensive disparity more than makes up for it.

Even last season, he wasn't a complete butcher coming in at -3 OAA, but showing at points that he can still flash the leather. There's no reason to believe that he can't be at least average defensively moving forward in 2026.

Moving Hayes to the bench and making Suarez the everyday third baseman has another benefit as well. It will free up the DH spot for other players like Nathaniel Lowe, who are also significantly more productive hitters than Hayes.

The Reds rank just ahead of the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Kansas City Royals in runs scored with 78. Fixing the offense has to be the top priority at this point, and even if Hayes rebounds to his career norms, it won't be enough to truly move the needle.

That brings about a real question about Hayes' future. The Reds will pay him $7 million this season and $23 million over the next three years. That's not quite an albatross, but it's a significant chunk of change for a budget-conscious franchise like Cincinnati.

More importantly, it's a lot of money to pay for a glorified defensive replacement. At what point does he get into Jeimer Candelario territory, where it becomes untenable to continue to roster him?

That's a debate for another day, though. Now the direction should be clear. Sit Hayes down and try out Suarez's glove at third day-in and day-out. If he proves viable defensively, that needs to be the path forward.

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