The Arizona Diamondbacks leveraged an 84-78 season into a World Series appearance.
In another showing that regular-season performance does not necessarily correlate with how a team plays in the playoffs, they eliminated several favorites to reach the Fall Classic.
They ended up losing to the Texas Rangers in five games, but now that they tasted what it’s like to play in the final stage, they want to make sure to improve their odds of returning there.
That’s why they swung a potentially crucial trade with the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.
MLB insider Bob Nightengale has all the details.
“Complete trade: Diamondbacks acquire veteran 3B Eugenio Suarez from Mariners for RHP Carlos Vargas and catcher Seby Zavala. The DBacks badly wanted a power-hitting 3B and now have their man,” he tweeted.
Complete trade: Diamondbacks acquire veteran 3B Eugenio Suarez from Mariners for RHP Carlos Vargas and catcher Seby Zavala.
The DBacks badly wanted a power-hitting 3B and now have their man https://t.co/OjQWciDIkX— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 22, 2023
The D-Backs deployed Evan Longoria and Emmanuel Rivera at third base for most of the season.
Longoria is now a veteran and a free agent, while Rivera isn’t much of a hitter.
The trade made lots of sense for the surging D-Backs, because they needed another true power threat to complement the younger pieces in the lineup such as Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, and Gabriel Moreno.
Suarez led all baseball in home runs in 2019 with 49, and has 246 for his career.
He hit 22 last season with the Mariners, with 96 RBI.
His batting average is not very high and he does strike out a ton, but for the price, it’s a good gamble by Arizona.
Vargas has a big fastball that routinely reaches home plate at triple digits, so the M’s will have a good piece to work with, too.
Suarez will make a little over $11 million in 2024 and then the club has a $15 million option for 2025.
NEXT: Diamondbacks Reveal A Fun Change For 2024