The Diamondbacks are shopping around Eugenio Suárez, who has been one of their biggest disappointments of the 2024 season. In 65 games, Suárez is batting .200 with five home runs, 30 RBI, and a .582 OPS. Given his $11.3 million salary, it’s very unlikely Arizona will find a potential suitor without having to pay down a significant chunk. Still, at the same time, there comes a point where the production at the plate simply isn’t getting the job done. However, there aren’t any capable replacements in the Diamondbacks organization who can play third without having to resort to some creative measures.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Despite the bat not showing up, Suárez is a capable defender at the position. They don’t have a third baseman they can call up from their Triple-A roster that could credibly play the position, leaving them with little options. Andrés Chaparro has 48 games at third with Reno, but is not on the team’s 40-man roster and has not played in a major league game before. It’s unlikely the Diamondbacks would choose to play him over Suárez in any circumstance this season while they’re still in the playoff race.
Their best option is taking one of their shortstops and moving him over to third base, whether that be Geraldo Perdomo, Jordan Lawlar, or Blaze Alexander. It makes the most sense to try to ask Lawlar to make the position change, although his injury likely pushes back any potential arrival to the big leagues. There isn’t much of a reason to play him at shortstop this season, so seeing if he can handle third base could determine if he will contribute to the 2024 club. Additionally, Perdomo is still viewed as the starting shortstop, but circumstances could dictate he slide over to third base with Kevin Newman already proving he can handle the position when called upon.
Should the Diamondbacks go down the route of eating much of Suárez’s salary and go in a different direction, they could be in a position where they have to execute a trade at the position at the deadline if they are still in the Wild Card race. Asking Perdomo or Lawlar to play third base is merely a temporary solution to get them through the season. Trading for a third baseman also eats into their resources toward improving their starting rotation, a more pressing issue for the Diamondbacks to address next month.
REPORT: Eugenio Suarez on the brink of losing his job with Diamondbacks
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
