Nick Krall Opens Up About Reds' Decision to Sign Eugenio Suarez in Free Agency

CINCINNATI – The Reds officially signed slugger Eugenio Suarez on Tuesday. He spent the first seven years of his career in the Queen City (2015-2021) and was traded to the Seattle Mariners in 2022.

Nick Krall and Suarez spoke with the media on Tuesday afternoon.

"To bring a guy in that is a middle-of-the-order bat, that hit 49 homers last year." President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall said. "He's a great clubhouse guy, great guy with all of your fans. You know what you're getting with him. He's just a tremendous individual, and it's really been something that we weren't sure we were gonna be able to do, but it was great that we were able to get Geno."

Krall was asked if the move was in Cincinnati's initial budget.

"No." Krall said. "This is more. We went to ownership last week, and I talked to Bob and Phil. You know, we said this is probably where it's going to go and what we're going to need that would be above and beyond our budget. And they approved it. And, you know...we're excited to be able to do that and go get it.”

He was later asked if Suarez was a player they kept in mind all offseason.

"We kept tabs on everybody," Krall said. "Jeff Graupe did a good job staying in touch with his agents. And, you know, we talked a lot with folks, but we didn't know, we didn't really negotiate and, you know, come to a, hey, this is gonna be the road we can go down until probably about 10 days ago."

The Reds signed Suarez to a one-year, $15 million contract with a mutual option for 2027. The team designated catcher Ben Rortvet for assignment as a corresponding move.

Adding a legitimate power bat in the lineup was one of the highest priorities many thought the Reds should obtain. After failing on the Kyle Schwarber sweepstakes, many thought it was going to be ignored. Signing Suarez, even for just one year, takes a lot of pressure off of Elly De La Cruz or whoever is batting ahead of him.

Suarez hit 49 home runs in the regular season with both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners. He hit three home runs in the playoffs. Nick Krall mentioned that he will get a bulk of his playing time at DH, but will also get playing time at third base and first; adding that Sal Stewart will get time at first base, third and second base.

Pitchers and catchers report on Monday, Feb. 9. The full squad must report by Feb. 16.

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