Reds' $15 Million Slugger Tabbed 'Worst Value Player' in Cincinnati

The Reds have done a poor job of deciding where to spend their money over the last few years.

Sep 8, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) celebrates with designated hitter Eugenio Suarez (28) after a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cincinnati Reds don't have a lot of money to spend each offseason, as they're one of the smaller markets in the league, but when they do spend money, they always seem to do it in the wrong places.

Players like Jeimer Candelario and Ke'Bryan Hayes are some of the more overpaid players for the Reds over the last few seasons, but they're not even the worst value players on the roster right now.

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller recently listed Reds slugger Eugenio Suárez as the team's worst value player for the 2026 season, as the fan favorite infielder is being paid $15 million this year while being worth around 0.0 WAR on the season.

Eugenio Suárez Hasn't Been Worth the Price Tag

Sep 13, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez (28) watches after hitting a three-run home run in the sixth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Suárez was supposed to be Cincinnati's solution to not having a legitimate slugger or a go-to choice at DH in 2025. And though he has heated up over the past six weeks, the Reds couldn't even give him away at the trade deadline with a .663 OPS at the time," Miller wrote. "Because he hasn't delivered the way they hoped he would—and because the likes of TJ Friedl, Matt McLain, Ke'Bryan Hayes and Noelvi Marté have been so much worse—Cincinnati is currently the National League's lowest -scoring team."

Suárez has been impressive in the second half of the season, which has boosted his numbers quite a bit, but it's all seemingly come in garbage time. Suárez is slashing .219/.339/.506 with 13 home runs in 48 games in the second half of the season, but it's still being dragged down by the first half of the year, in which he posted a .672 OPS in 67 games.

Suárez is eating up a lot of the Reds' payroll to be worth around 0.0 WAR. This is money that the Reds seemingly tried to throw at Kyle Schwarber, but they weren't able to land him. This is money the Reds could have spent on building a respectable bullpen.

Either way, they needed more in the first half of the season from Suárez if they were going to have a chance to compete for a postseason spot this year. The veteran has been impressive down the stretch, but it hasn't meant that much for a Reds team whose season is all but over.

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