Reds sign Eugenio Suarez to seven-year contract extension

The Cincinnati Reds have agreed to terms with Eugenio Suarez on a contract extension through the 2024 season, with a team option for 2025, according to the team.

We do not have confirmation yet on the dollars involved, but it is safe to assume that Suarez won’t have to worry about money for the rest of his life. He was eligible for arbitration for the first time in his career this year and had agreed on a salary of $3.75 million. This deal likely replaces that.

This is a pretty big move for both the Reds and Suarez. Reds’ top prospect Nick Senzel plays a pretty mean 3B himself, but he has been trying his hand at shortstop this spring. Suarez is positionally flexible himself, so this doesn’t really lock anything in roster-wise. Which is good. They are locking up Suarez through the bulk of his prime years, as the 2025 option will be for his age-33 year.

Suarez had himself a really nice breakout season last year, slashing .260/.367/.461 with 26 homers and 25 doubles. He has worked really hard to make himself an above-average defender as well, so there is no doubt that he has earned this. I’ll reserve final judgement until we see the actual numbers, but I’m really confident that this is a smart play.

UPDATE:

Tommy Stokke of lockedonmlb.com reports that the deal guarantees Suarez $66 million with the 2025 option worth $15 million with a $2 million buyout. That means Suarez will average only about $9.5 million per season through the prime years of his career. Given the steady rise in prices for free agents (this past offseason notwithstanding), I think that is an amazing steal of a deal for the Reds. It’s a good bit of financial security for Suarez too, of course. Perhaps he saw the weirdness of the free agent market and decided he never wanted anything to do with it.

Mark Sheldon has the yearly breakdown: