Subscribe
Follow Us
Guess who's back for the Seattle Mariners. The American League West club is reuniting with third baseman Eugenio Suarez following a big trade late Wednesday. Suarez comes back to the M's from the Arizona Diamondbacks, who get first baseman Tyler Locklear and a couple of pitching prospects in Juan Burgos and Hunter Cranton.
Eugenio Suarez trade grade
The Mariners reunite with star slugger
The Mariners can consider themselves lucky for having the chance and being able to execute a plan to atone for what many believe was a mistake they made in 2023, when they traded Eugenio Suarez to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Carlos Vargas and Seby Zavala.
Since that trade, Suarez has sent 66 balls into orbit while with the Diamondbacks. Now, the Mariners get the opportunity to enjoy that kind of power from Suarez's bat again.
Seattle is also getting someone who's hitting .248/.320/.576 with 36 home runs and 87 RBIs, so far in the 2025 MLB regular season.
With Suarez, the Mariners can expect an elevated offense. Seattle is only 20th in the big leagues in terms of third baseman wRC+ (79) and 25th in third baseman wOBA (.274), per FanGraphs, but with Suarez taking over that spot, the Mariners have the terrifying bragging rights of having an infield that features two of the top six home run hitters in the majors today. Cal Raleigh leads the big leagues with 41 taters.
It should be an easy decision for the Mariners to send Ben Williamson, who only has a home run and sports a .604 OPS this season, somewhere else to make way for Suarez. The downside here is on the defensive aspect, as Williamson is among the top players in the big leagues in defensive runs saved (8), while Suarez owns a -4 DRS.
Although the Mariners surrendered some young assets to get the services of Suarez again, they didn't have to part ways with a high-caliber prospect. Locklear, Burgos and Cranton are names that aren't on the MLB's top 100 prospect rankings in 2025. Locklear is ranked just ninth among Mariners prospects, while Cranton and Burgos are only 16th and 17th, respectively.
Sure, Suarez looks like a rental at the moment, as his current contract is set to expire after the season, but the familiarity between the two sides could pave the way for another contract. At the very least, the Mariners didn't lose much to get a powerful bat.
Grade: A
Diamondbacks load up the farm
The Diamondbacks have decided to be sellers at the trade deadline, as they continue to flounder. They are 12 games out of first place in the National League West standings through Wednesday with a 51-58 record — just fourth in the division — after getting swept by the Detroit Tigers.
There is a lot of unknown about the value of what the Diamondbacks got from Seattle in the Eugenio Suarez trade. Locklear, 24, hasn't played 20 games in the big leagues at the time of the trade, while Burgos has only appeared in four MLB games. Cranton has zero experience in the big leagues. What's certain, however, is that Arizona added youth to its cupboard of assets.
The 25-year-old Burgos made his debut in the big leagues in 2025. In four appearances with the Mariners, he recorded a 4.05 ERA to go along with eight strikeouts and two walks in 6 2/3 innings. Cranton, meanwhile, is 24, and posted a 1.13 ERA with 11 strikeouts through 11 frames on the mound this year for High-A Everett.
Grade: B
