How Mariners' Eugenio Suárez can dodge being a trade deadline bust

The vibes around Eugenio Suárez since his return to the Seattle Mariners haven't been quite as good as some would have thought. Although many believed it was this year's deal of the deadline, the numbers haven't been nearly as expected.

Since rejoining the team, he has posted a 36 wRC+ while striking out 36.1 percent of the time and walking at a 4.9 percent clip. In other words, he doesn't look like nearly the same player who was playing third base for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

It's all about timing for Eugenio Suárez

No one is more aware of this sudden regression in performance than Suárez himself. In a recent conversation with Tim Booth of the Seattle Times, he talked about what adjustments he was making to get back on track and mentioned that the key was making sure his bat was settled enough to be ready to swing. It's a similar fix to the one that has helped Julio return to his own MVP form.

There is evidence to suggest that this could be the key to unlocking Geno in his peak form. When with the Diamondbacks, his most powerful strokes were dealt when he had already completed his load before the pitch had been delivered. Two examples include this home run against the Cardinals and this more recent long ball against the Mets.

When his load is late, it often causes him to freeze up and take free called strikes like this fastball from Jonathan Cannon and this cutter right down the middle from Kumar Rocker that would've otherwise been a perfect meatball.

On the other hand, if he's ready a little too early, he seems more prone to making poor swing decisions and chasing. He swung at this sweeper from Sean Manaea and also at this particularly uncompetitive cutter from Davis Martin, neither of which were good opportunities.

The numbers on Suárez's actual swing decisions since coming back to Seattle paint a complicated picture. On one hand, his first-pitch strike rate is basically unchanged (down only 0.2 percentage points) from his time in Arizona. On another, his chase rate is up 4.2 percentage points and his contact rate is down 8.0 percentage points.

Either way, the key seems to be getting his timing early enough to be ready but late enough to be able to bail on a pitch outside of the strike zone.

It should also be noted that this slump didn't magically start when he arrived in Seattle. He hasn't really been himself since the All-Star break. Starting from July 21st, he has a 39 wRC+, a far cry from the 140 wRC+ he posted in the first half of the season.

While Suárez and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer spend time in the lab trying to iron out these issues before the postseason, the rest of the lineup has seemed more than happy to cover for him and Seattle is still comfortably in the playoff picture. However, if they want to make the most out of their marquee trade pickup and avoid any discussions of a deal gone wrong, big improvements will have to be made soon.