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3 possible Eugenio Suarez replacements

With an unexpected salary dump of Eugenio Suarez, the Mariners may be in the market for a third baseman. What are their best options to fill that void?

By Tanner Vogt |
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Texas Rangers v Seattle Mariners / Steph Chambers/GettyImages
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The Mariners were expected to be active this offseason. With a few holes in the lineup, many expected them to pursue to the free agent market for a bat or 2, as well as look at dealing from their depth of starting pitching to acquire a controllable middle-of-the-order bat.

We also heard rumblings of teams being interested in acquiring Eugenio Suarez. On the heals of a gold glove level season, yes he was robbed, a lot of teams figured to be interested. But the Mariners traded Geno, a clubhouse leader and fan favorite, for a backup major league catcher and a high upside reliever, an underwhelming return if you ask me.


Sign Jeimer Candelario for 3 years $45 million...I like the addition. What's Next?

We looked at signing Candelario previously after rumors of a Geno trade first surfaced, and I really like his fit. In my opinion, with shedding Geno's contract, I think this signing becomes the most realistic. Candelario. The Mariners have obviously placed an emphasis on cutting back on the strikeouts and Candelario fits that mold to a tee. He has a career 2.35% K rate and walks a solid amount at 9.6%. His bat would fit really well into the middle of this lineup as a switch hitter and could eventually play some first base or DH.

Trade for Bo Bichette....Yes Please!

While signing Candelario, in my opinion, is the most likely course of action the Mariners take, this perhaps is the biggest swing for the fences the Mariners could take. This would take a big package certainly including Miller or Woo and I wouldn't be surprised if the Blue Jays asked for Logan Gilbert.

Bo Bichette could immediately play short stop or third base and is one of the best hitters in the game, with a career 127 wRC+ and a .299/.340/.487 slash line. Again, he fits the mold of cutting out strikeouts with a career 20.8% strikeout rate. He would fit in anywhere in the top 4 of your lineup and gives this lineup another elite level bat. This would signal to Mariners fans everywhere that this team is going for it and is ready to win, something that I think all of us might need a bit of.

The Mariners certainly have been confident about acquiring their types of players and extending them. Maybe the Mariners don't give out a huge contract to a current free agent but follow their recent patterns. Bichette will be a free agent after the 2025 offseason where he will enter the 2026 season as a 28-year-old. I could see the Mariners acquiring him and extending him on a deal similar to Xander Bogaerts, maybe an 8-year deal worth 30-35 million per year.

Roll with Luis Urias...Hopefully not

This one could very well happen, and if this does, all Mariners fans should be calling for Dipotos job or for Stanton to sell the team. Unless you add 2 or 3 borderline MVP level bats elsewhere, you cannot get away with having confidence that Urias can be your everyday third baseman. He fits the mold of the "CTZ" but he struggled mightily in 2023 with a .194 average. He has impressive walk rates and there are signs showing that 2023 was an outlier, but you cannot bank on that.

I truly think Urias will get back to his 2021 and 2022 ways. I would not be surprised of he slashed .240/.340/.400 with 12-15 home runs and played all over the infielder, but again, don't bank on that. If he does, then great, you have a utility infielder that is an above average bat, but if he doesn't and you are hoping he is your everyday third baseman, then you are in a world of hurt.

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