The Mariners have placed third baseman Eugenio Suarez on the 10-day injured list due to a fracture in the tip of his right index finger, manager Scott Servais told reporters (including The Athletic’s Corey Brock, The Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish, and MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer). Utilityman Dylan Moore has been activated from the 10-day IL to take Suarez’s roster spot, with Moore returning after about three weeks missed due to an oblique strain.
More will likely be known about Suarez’s timeline after he visits a specialist on Monday, but for now, there is optimism that the fracture is minor enough that he’ll be able to return before the regular season is over. However, he might be limited to designated hitter work if he is able to come back, as throwing is the biggest question mark for the right-handed Suarez.
Losing Suarez is a big setback for a Mariners team that has been on a dream run for the last few months, positioning themselves to win a wild card and reach the postseason for the first time since 2001. Beyond just making the playoffs, the M’s were looking to make a deep run into October, yet that will be a lot more difficult if Suarez is limited or perhaps unable to play whatsoever.
After struggling in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Suarez became an expendable piece for the cost-cutting Reds, who dealt Suarez and Jesse Winker to Seattle in March for a package of four younger players. Ironically, Winker was seen as the big get at the time, as Suarez’s inclusion in the deal was largely seen as a contract the Mariners had to absorb in order to pry Winker out of Cincinnati.
As it has turned out, Winker has delivered roughly league-average offense in 2022, while Suarez has bounced back to become one of the Mariners’ top bats. The third baseman has hit .235/.335/.470 with 31 home runs over 594 plate appearances, translating to a 133 OPS+/135 wRC+. Though Suarez has a league-high 183 strikeouts, he has been crushing the ball when he has made contact, and his 12% walk rate is in the 90th percentile of all players. Beyond the offensive production, Suarez has also been something of an unexpected benefit at third base, with positive grades (+1 Outs Above Average, +3 Defensive Runs Saved, +2.1 UZR/150) from several public defensive metrics.
Only 25 position players have a higher fWAR than Suarez’s 4.4 number, making him a difficult player for the Mariners to feasibly replace. If he is able to return as a DH and keep on hitting, the M’s would be more than pleased with that outcome — given how Carlos Santana has been inconsistent as the team’s regular designated hitter, Suarez might even be an upgrade in the role.
Third base is another story, as Moore and Abraham Toro figure to be the top options in the short term. Servais said that Jake Lamb will also get some work at the hot corner, and regular first baseman Ty France also took some grounders at third base today. France has past experience as a third baseman but he hasn’t played the position at all this season, and made only 11 appearances at third base in 2020-21.
Noooooooo. This is horrible news. Guess the M’s will have to mix and match at 3B. Please be back before the playoffs, Geno!
Good thing the tigers got Alfredo Simon for Suarez!
One of the few poor trades Dave Dombrowski made. Still, the Tigers needed SPs and Jim Leyland didn’t like to use rookies. He preferred veterans.
Kyle Seager
Lol. Pass. We barely wanted him when he was actually on the Ms.
Seags retired too early; the shift ban would have revitalized his BA and given his career new life
I don’t think so. Just off the eye test, the quality of contact Seager made declined sharply. It was either a home run, or he rolled over to 2B.
https://sodomojo.com/2021/08/27/kyle-seager-worst-enemy-shift/amp/
Good read on Seags and how he changed his approach against the shift. It totally changed his approach and mechanics at the plate. His stats hitting against the shift were just godawful.
O ya what about his ks doubt it would of revitalized him
In 2021, Seager hit 35 HRs and had 29 doubles. 161 Ks
In 2022, Suarez currently sits at 31 HRs and 23 doubles. 183 Ks
Both were good seasons for the Mariners. I hate when I hear people say Seager was declining.
He had a .285 OBP in 2021, coupled with a line drive % well below his career average, a career high in IFFB% (guaranteed out), career high in soft speed contact…career worst in swings out of the zone, career worst contact % metrics, defense well below his career peak, zero value with his legs…
Seager was a declining player who wouldn’t be good even with the shift ban. Dude was 4 or 5 years removed from being an actually valuable player. And that’s fine, all players decline. It’s just clear that’s where Seager was. Tip of the cap to a great Mariner career, thank you for your service, good move to not bring him back.
Oh his line drive percentage and contact percentage? Sabermetrics are making us dull. Who cares about his 100 RBI, his line drive percentage is down, he must be garbage. Suarez on the other hand is slightly younger and strikes out more… he must be good!
At least his earrings look fabulous!
He is quite flamboyant. You should see the dance videos they play of him at the ballpark between innings. He’s having a blast out there, I’ll give him that
Although I didn’t witness the dances, I did see him hit some significant home runs in games against the Braves. The earrings were icing on a cake.
His personality has been embraced up here. We love him.
His hair was a bit much blond on one side black on the other. Glad he fixed it. He has been a great surprise for us though. Can’t say the same for Twinkles. He does not look good in the field or the plate much of the time. He takes bad routes to balls more often than night. He is slow and gets replaced by Swaggerty in late innings usually. Why not just start Haggerty? The great eye he has has seen him jawing with the ump at a ball at the knees mid plate.
The fight he started was stupid. Why would they intentionally throw at him? Then throwing eqpt when rung up. I understand a lot of players do this and it doesn’t make him look any better when it was a strike. They also probably don’t do it as much. I would just eat the extension he signed and cut him. Hopefully he will be part of a trade. If Kelenic could hit like he has in AAA he will be great up here. I understand the
4A thing but he needs to keep his cool.
Too many tantrums.
I broke a couple metatarsal bones in my hand. No surgery just a big splint. I worked the next day as a welder. Frankensteined a glove and kept going. I was back playing ball 2 weeks later. I had to put the splint back on when on base. I guess it depends on how bad. A couple cracks should be fine looks like they took a hammer to piece of hard candy hit with a hammer might be a bit tougher. If they move Ty over I think they could bring White up and hope he hits a bit here.
Mariners fans: F***
“Disappointed but not surprised deep sigh”
Tbh, Suarez has been very durable over his career. Since his first full season in 2016 up through 2021, he’s played in 94.1% of the games the Reds have played.
Oh yeah, and he’s been the most durable guy in this lineup all season man. And he has gotten beat up with getting hit and knocking balls down over there. Tough tough guy and you can tell being an old school “everyday player” at the hot corner is important to him.
This injury should be surprising. Alas, now he plays for the Seattle Mariners. Lol. We can’t have nice things up here man
Is it too late for the M’s to pick up another bat from somewhere as a fill-in?
Yes. To be eligible for the postseason, a player has to be on the 40-man roster at the beginning of September.
The trade deadline also has come and gone.
At this point, the only place the Mariners can get another bat is from their own farm system. Kyle Lewis is probably at the top of the list.
So if this lingers into the postseason you play Ty at third right? And make sure you have Trammell to create another DH option with the outfielders. Santana at first.
3 weeks doesn’t sound like enough time to recover from an oblique strain. Go get ’em D-Mo!
Can a broken finger mend by the playoffs? This is why they acquired Abraham Toro last season. Let’s hope Toro is up to the task and Eugenio Suarez recovers soon. It’s hard to perform in pain.
Pain is one of several issues.. Strength, function, inflammation, compensation and proper healing are some others.