Old friend and former Mariners playoff hero Eugenio Suárez gets warm welcome in return

Perhaps it could be best described like a receiving line at a wedding for the train of traffic that made its way across the grass of T-Mobile Park on Monday afternoon.

One player after another. One coach after another. From the first-base side of the field to the third-base side. All for the chance at giving – or in most cases getting – a big ol’ bear hug from a good friend.

The good vibes are back in town for the next few days, even if they happen to be coming from the visiting dugout.

“Seattle’s been nice to me. It’s got part of my heart here,” former Mariner and current Cincinnati third baseman Eugenio Suárez said Monday before the M’s and Reds opened a three-game series.

“I had a lot of good moments here in Seattle, especially last year.”

Suárez will forever be a fan and clubhouse favorite for his two stints with the Mariners, including last year when he became the trade deadline acquisition everyone hoped would make his way back to Seattle and then helped the team to its first AL West title in 24 years.

“Just an incredible person, incredible player. What he’s done on the field is remarkable, but what he’s done off the field and just what he brought to our clubhouse and what he brings to this game,” said Mariners manager Dan Wilson, one of those who spent several minutes chatting with Suárez. “He’s one of the good people in this game, and you know it goes beyond just being a good teammate. He’s got the ability to show up and be the same person every day. I think that’s a superpower in this game.”

The last time Suárez stood in the batter’s box at T-Mobile Park, he produced one of the most memorable moments in Mariners’ history with his tiebreaking grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series last October. The slam lifted the M’s to a 6-2 win over the Blue Jays and a 3-2 lead in the series.

There have been some loud moments in the history of the ballpark. Suárez’s homer is in the conversation of being the loudest.

“That is one of the biggest homers I’ve hit in my career so far and doing it just for the city that really deserved that moment. They (were) waiting a long time for a moment like that one,” Suárez said.

When he stepped back into the box on Monday night, it came as the leadoff hitter in the top of the second. The Mariners played a video on the giant screen in center field remembering that grand slam, and Suárez was greeted by a standing ovation from the T-Mobile Park crowd, the Mariners dugout and former teammates on the field. Cal Raleigh wore a huge smile and gave Suárez a hug before he flew out to right field.

This is the second time Suárez returns as a visitor after playing for the Mariners. When he came back in 2024 with the Diamondbacks, it was after an offseason where no one wanted to see him leave in the first place. He was one of the casualties of budgetary constraints that offseason, which led to his trade to the desert.

He was a beloved figure when he came back previously.

Now, he’s back as a full-fledged hero – both for his playoff moment last fall, but also in his native Venezuela and what happened in the World Baseball Classic. Suárez delivered the tiebreaking double in the ninth inning that gave Venezuela a 3-2 win over the U.S. in the championship game.

“I think Venezuela deserved a moment like that,” Suárez said.

This season with the Reds has been a mix for Suárez. He missed more than a month with a left oblique strain. His batting average has hovered just above .200 for most of the season and the strikeouts are still there. But his streakiness for getting hot is still there; he’s homered four times in the past nine games and has 12 for the season.

With the Reds in last in the NL Central, it has raised the chance of Suárez being moved at the trade deadline. Seattle doesn’t seem a fit , and while Suarez wants to stay with the Reds – the team where he became an established big leaguer – he understands the business side as well.

“I’ve been in this situation a couple times already, and I try to not think too much about it, and just do my best on the field, try to help my team win games,” Suárez said.