Mariners trade slugging third baseman Eugenio Suarez to Diamondbacks

SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners have reportedly traded third baseman Eugenio Suarez to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Mariners will get reliever Carlos Vargas and backup catcher Seby Zavala in the swap.

Suarez came over to Seattle in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds prior to the 2022 season. In his first year with the team, he slugged 31 home runs with a .236 batting average. Although he was one of the few players in Major League Baseball to appear in every single game this last season, he saw a downtick in production with just 22 home runs and a .232 batting average.

“First off, I want to thank Geno for his contributions over the past two years, on and off the field,” Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto said in a news release. “The day he walked in, he told us ‘good vibes only’ and he brought that mantra to our clubhouse and our fans, he’s truly one of kind and we’re lucky to have had him as part of our club.”

Suarez was due to make $11 million in 2024.

Vargas pitched in just five games for the Diamondbacks last season, striking out seven batters in 4.2 innings, while walking four. Over his four-year minor league career, he has a 4.82 ERA to go with 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings along with a walk rate of 4.6 per nine.

Zavala has a career batting average of .210. He started his career with the Chicago White Sox in 2019 before being acquired by Arizona in 2023.

“Adding Seby and Carlos is another step toward building the type of deep roster that is required at the Major-League level,” Dipoto said. “Seby is an experienced catcher with excellent defensive skills who will team with Cal behind the plate. And Carlos is a young reliever with the type of ‘big stuff’ that our staff has done a wonderful job developing over the years.”

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