Mariners Rumors: A new big-market team is challenging Seattle for Eugenio Suárez

As if fending off the New York Yankees in the chase for Eugenio Suárez wasn't going to be hard enough, now the Seattle Mariners also have to worry about another big-market team on the North Side of Chicago.

This is according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, who reported Tuesday that the Chicago Cubs have joined the Mariners and Yankees in asking the Arizona Diamondbacks about the slugging third baseman:

This is happening at a moment when Suárez's trade value is absolutely skyrocketing. Though he is earning $15 million in the last year of his contract, he's also gone deep five times in three games to up his home run total to a National League-high 36. He also leads MLB with 86 RBI.

The Cubs may need Suárez even more than the Mariners

It is not the least bit surprising to hear that the Cubs are in on the 34-year-old veteran, as third base is a major weak spot in what is otherwise one of the strongest offenses in the league.

The Cubs have gotten a .550 OPS and two home runs from the hot corner. Each represents a league low, and they make even the .673 OPS and five homers that the Mariners have gotten from third base feel like an embarrassment of offensive riches.

As with the Yankees, the Cubs have two advantages over the Mariners in the bidding for Suárez. One is that both clubs are veritable revenue fountains, whereas the Mariners have already chipped away at a perpetually limited budget. The Yankees and Cubs also have better odds of making the playoffs at FanGraphs, and could therefore be more willing to go all-in on a rental.

And yet, Jim Bowden of The Athletic hears that the Yankees have concerns about Suárez's defense, which Mariners fans will know has never been one of his strengths. He has -20 Defensive Runs Saved as a third baseman for his career.

The Mariners were willing to live with Suárez's poor defense in 2022 and 2023 precisely because his bat was so potent, as he had a 115 OPS+ and 53 homers as a Mariner. Them trading him to Arizona in November of 2023 felt like a self-own from the start, and time has not done Seattle's end of the deal any favors.

It's clear that Suárez still has a soft spot for Seattle, however, and the Mariners frankly need his bat more than the Cubs even if the latter is worse off at third base. They're outscoring the Mariners by 0.6 runs per game, which is partly a consequence of Seattle lacking depth in its everyday lineup.

Though Jerry Dipoto is open about his preference for trades for controllable players, Suárez ought to be an exception to the rule. And it seems as if Dipoto agrees, as Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports that Suárez is the Mariners' No. 1 target and that they and the Diamondbacks have "engaged in preliminary discussions."

Dipoto has at least one advantage that he can press to beat the Yankees and Cubs to Suárez. The Mariners' farm system is the best in the league, and also in the organizational depth chart are MLB-ready arms that could appeal to Arizona.

In short, the Cubs joining the Suárez race complicates things for the Mariners, but the endgame should be the same: Go get him at any cost.