The Reds Have a Eugenio Suárez Problem

When Nick Krall and the Cincinnati Reds‘ front office issued a one-year deal to Eugenio Suárez this offseason, they expected to fortify their young lineup with an experienced power bat. Two months into the 2026 season, reality couldn’t be further from that expectation.

Fresh off one of the best stretches of his career, the 34-year-old is en route to the worst season he’s had, while also being the biggest issue in a flailing Reds lineup. What was once hailed as a joyful reunion has quickly become a nightmare scenario in Cincinnati.

The worst part of the situation? There’s no solution. Even in the midst of a terrible stretch, which has seen his squad fall into last place in the NL Central, Suárez is still being trotted out on a nearly day-to-day basis.

There’s simply no better alternative at the moment.

Let’s dive into what’s gone wrong for Suárez this season, and the impact it’s had on this Reds’ squad.

All stats were recorded prior to play on June 16.

The Bat the Reds Expected

For much of his career, Eugenio Suárez has been known as one of the best power hitters in the league. A perennial slugger, if you will. From 2023-25, he blasted 101 round-rippers, good for the eighth most among all qualified hitters.

He frequently posted one of the highest barrel rates in the league (78th percentile or higher from 2021-2025), alongside one of the highest pull-air rates, which supplemented the raw power of his swing. Those metrics led Suárez to a collective 115 wRC+ over the previous three years and a 125 wRC+ in 2025 alone. He’s also boasted 3.5+ fWAR in every season since 2022 (until this year).

Even with all this success, it seems like Suárez slipped through the cracks this past offseason, only being able to rake in a one-year deal. His underlying metrics have always been a bit flimsy, given his high strikeout and chase rates, as well as a relatively mediocre average exit velocity.

He’s consistently struck out nearly 30.0% of the time, while swinging and missing at a similar rate. At the same time, his walk rate steadily crept lower and lower in the past few years.

However, things have never really come crashing down for the right-handed hitter like they have this year.

2026 Performance

Things could hardly be going worse for Suárez, who has slashed .212/.274/.376 with a .266 xwOBA and 75 wRC+ through 47 games so far in 2026. He’s done so while hitting just seven homers to this point, and racking up -2 OAA, all of which has led to an accumulation of -0.5 fWAR.

Suárez’s offensive struggles could pretty easily be chalked up to his poor batted-ball profile, which has declined in just about every metric except LA sweet-spot% from 2025 to 2026 (32.8% -> 33.6%). He currently ranks in the 17th percentile for average exit velocity (86.9 MPH), the seventh percentile in hard-hit rate (28.2%), and the 10th percentile for squared-up rate (19.2%).

An increase in weak contact for Suárez has been paired with an increase in groundballs, with the right-hander hitting the ball on the ground at his highest rate since 2016. He’s also chasing pitches out of the zone at the second-highest clip of his career, trailing only last season.

Suárez’s profile has never been this barren at any point during his career, even during a couple of below-average seasons. It seems like even in those years, there was a piece of his game to cling onto with hope, but this year is different. He has been mediocre at best in two categories (barrel rate and launch angle sweet spot rate), and below-average in all the rest.

In his current state, Suárez looks like a shell of the slugger the Reds expected to strengthen their lineup.

The Larger Problem

The biggest issue with the Reds’ current situation is that there are few viable replacement options.

Given the ongoing struggles of the rest of Cincinnati’s lineup, Suárez has still found a way to slip into playing time. With the exception of an injured Elly De La Cruz, only five Reds hitters have managed a .700 OPS or higher. Three of those five have fewer than 200 PA (JJ Bleday, Nathaniel Lowe, and Dane Myers).

Of the Reds’ top 30 prospects (per MLB Pipeline), only two position players seem close to being major league-ready: Héctor Rodríguez and Carlos Jorge, both of whom are outfielders. Either of the two could realistically fit into some configuration of the current lineup, but with the season slipping away at this very moment, the front office doesn’t seem too keen on throwing unproven talent into the fire.

A trade deadline splash isn’t completely out of the cards, but things are already looking bleak with the squad sitting 10.5 games back of the division lead and three games back of a Wild Card spot.

As things currently stand, it looks like the Reds will continue to count on a Suárez turnaround. Here’s to hoping he can pull it off.