In a new series I am going to get up and running here on this blog called “On the Block”, I’ll delve into the data surrounding players you’re likely to see dealt to a contender before July 31.
As we near the trading deadline next Thursday, names are being thrown around each and every way we look. Perhaps the biggest name that is expected to move in the next week is Eugenio Suárez.
Eugenio Suarez, 3B, ARI – .254/.325/.598, 36 HR, 86 RBI, .387 wOBA, 150 wRC+
Playing third base on an expiring deal, Suárez has been providing elite production at the plate for Arizona this season. Outside of a monstrous 49 home runs in 2019, Suárez hadn’t eclipsed 34 home runs in a season. He’s already hit 36 this year in 100 games. His .387 wOBA ranks 9th and 150 wRC+ ranks 10th in all of baseball.
His walk rate (6.8% BB%) is low compared to his career average (9.6%) and his strikeout rate (26.2% K%) is a tick below his career average (27.0%). The real story is his power surge. He’s flaunting a .344 ISO (isolated power), though only averaging a .218 ISO over his career. A big part of that spike can be attributed to his increased launch angle, which on average is sitting at 23.5 degrees compared to his historically hitting at a 17.6 degree launch angle. He’s also hitting balls harder at a higher rate with 51.7% HardHit% and 15.2% Barrel%, both well above his career norms.
Building on the batted ball data, Suárez is hitting fly balls half of the time (50.6%)–even more than he was in 2019 (42.3% FB%) when he hit those 49 homers! As a result, he’s got an inflated HR/FB rate of 27.1%, which may be a concern to teams interested in trading for him. Although it’s likely unsustainable, Suárez does have a history of elevated home run efficiency, posting a 25.7% HR/FB rate from 2018 to 2020 across 1300 at-bats.
Suárez has also been the most aggressive he’s been in his career thus far at the plate. Over his career, he’s swung 44.2% of the time, while in 2025, he’s been swinging over half the time (50.8%) and seeing virtually no changes in contact percentages. For a Diamondbacks team out of national spotlight at the moment, the swing-and-miss isn’t too concerning, but for a playoff team in high leverage spots, could this pose a concern?
Defensive Profile – -4 DRS, -6 OAA
Suárez doesn’t provide nearly as much value defensively as he does with bat in hand. According to FanGraphs, his Offensive Value of 20.2 vastly outshines his Defensive Value of -2.3.
His -6 OAA ranks in the 4th percentile, according to Baseball Savant, and is dead last among third basemen. His arm strength ranks in the 43rd percentile.
Suárez has been inconsistent with the glove throughout his career, and it’s unlikely that any contending team should trust him too much at the hot corner. It’s likely whichever team decides to pull the trigger on him will envision him as an everyday DH, especially if they’ve got a proven third basemen that can be relied upon in the field.
Conclusion
Whichever organization trades for Eugenio Suárez will get a special bat. They’ll get a right-handed hitter that produces against both righties (157 wRC+) and lefties (131 wRC+). He’s been linked to the Mariners already, but it’s likely Arizona will get many callers before long.
He may not bring value with the glove, but for a contender in need of pop and production at the dish, Suárez could be one of the most impactful additions of July, even if it’s mainly from the DH spot.
Inner Half 