Mariners 2022 Report Cards: Eugenio Suarez

Many Mariners’ fans first noticed the new player, Eugenio (Geno) Suarez, due to his hair. Suarez dyed half of his hair blond, leaving his natural color on the other half. This was the first indication that Eugenio Suarez is no ordinary player. In the middle of Spring Training, the Mariners acquired Suarez and his fellow Reds teammate, Jesse Winker. (Later on, Luis Castillo also rejoined his former Reds teammates.)

I have rarely seen Suarez without a smile on his face and when he speaks with someone else, they are both smiling. Suarez has and promotes “good vibes.” For a fanbase who was worried about how to replace veteran Kyle Seager at third base, Suarez has stepped up. Suarez builds morale and encourages his teammates with his positive outlook.

Eugenio Suarez receives an A Mariners grade on his 2022 report card.

In addition, Eugenio Suarez was a mighty good baseball player. In 2022.

• He hit 31 homeruns and had 87 RBIs
• His batting average was .236
• His on-base percentage was .332
• His slugging percentage was .459
• As a third basemen, he had a.971 fielding percentage
• He had a career-high bWAR of 4.0

Eugenio Suarez batted exceptionally well in September.  On September 16, Suarez broke his middle finger as he fielded a ball and moved onto the 10-day injury list. Seattle fans became somewhat nervous as the team was approaching some of the final days of the season and hoped to break the playoff drought. Would they play as well without Suarez? Luckily, Suarez was back at bat sooner than I expected and then picked up his 3rd base duties as well.

I hope that the Mariners keep Eugenio Suarez for a long time. He has the potential to grow even stronger, as is evident from several of his seasons with the Reds. His positive spirit and focus on winning the game for the team is so valuable, particularly when the team struggles. And the fans clearly need to follow his sweet daughters as they grow older.