Reds face brutal reality after Ranger Suarez just threw a wrench in pitching market

The Cincinnati Reds were never in the market for Ranger Suarez, but the front office undoubtedly saw the lofty contract he just received from the Boston Red Sox. According to several sources, Suarez's deal with Boston is worth $130 million over the next five seasons.

Suarez is a unique case, and one that may become more common as the game continues to evolve. While so many pitchers nowadays are chasing velocity, Suarez relies on soft contact, ground balls, and keeping free runners off the base paths. According to Baseball Savant, he ranked among the 85th percentile or higher in average exit velocity, ground ball rate, and walk rate.

The Reds just so happen to have a left-hander with an eerily similar profile on their pitching staff. Andrew Abbott, who enjoyed a breakout season in 2025, didn't rank as highly as Suarez in all those categories, but he was in the ball park. Abbott struggled to keep the ball on the ground, but relied heavily on soft contact and a walk rate that was just a hair over 6%.

Red Sox deal for Ranger Suarez should be a wakeup call for the Reds

Hard-throwing pitchers with strikeout stuff like Dylan Cease, Zack Wheeler, and Chris Sale are always going to receive those high-dollar contracts. But Suarez just cashed in without having an elite fastball or an impressive strikeout rate. This should be a wake up call to the Reds front office, and they should be looking to sign Abbott to a long-term contract before he prices himself out of Cincinnati.

To date, the Reds have been reluctant to lock up their young core. Outside of Hunter Greene — who agreed to a six-year, $53 million deal back in 2023 — Cincinnati hasn't signed any of their homegrown talent to a long-term deal. Any one of Nick Lodolo, Tyler Stephenson, or Spencer Steer represent the those three are all fine young players, Abbott is the only All-Star among them, and may be the most crucial to the Reds' long-term success.

Cincinnati wouldn't need to fork over $130 million in order to get Abbott to sign on the dotted line, but a deal that's similar to Greene's with several escalators should be something worth pursuing in the near future. Abbott is up for a raise through arbitration next offseason, so signing him to a new deal before the start of the season would be wise.