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02/01 18:54 CST Eugenio Surez and the Reds agree to a $15 million, 1-year
contract, AP sources say
Eugenio Surez and the Reds agree to a $15 million, 1-year contract, AP sources
say
By JOE REEDY
AP Sports Writer
Eugenio Surez and the Cincinnati Reds have agreed on a $15 million, one-year
contract, two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press
on Sunday night.
The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was
pending a physical and had not been announced.
Surez was the top slugger left on the free agent market and the two-time
All-Star returns to Cincinnati, where he played seven seasons. He hit 189 home
runs for the Reds from 2015 through 2021, including 49 in 2019.
The move gives the Reds the proven power hitter they had been seeking
throughout the offseason. A third baseman for most of his 12-year major league
career, the 34-year-old Surez is expected to be Cincinnati's primary
designated hitter and perhaps play some games at third base or first.
The team has Gold Glove winner Ke'Bryan Hayes at third, and touted prospect Sal
Stewart is likely to play first.
The Reds were one of many teams interested in Surez at the trade deadline last
year, but they didn't want to part with key prospects. He was traded from
Arizona to Seattle on July 31 and finished fifth in the majors with 49 home
runs and fourth with 118 RBIs. He batted .228 overall with an .824 OPS.
The Mariners fell one win shy of reaching their first World Series, losing to
Toronto in the American League Championship Series. Surez had two home runs in
Game 5, including a grand slam in the eighth inning.
Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati has averaged 2.67 home runs per game
since it opened in 2003. That is the second-highest homer rate in the majors
among ballparks to host at least 1,200 games.
Surez was traded by the Reds to Seattle during spring training in 2022. He
spent two seasons with the Mariners before getting traded to the Diamondbacks.
Surez broke into the majors with Detroit in 2014. He is a .246 career hitter
with 325 homers, 949 RBIs and a .792 OPS.
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
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