The Yankees are staring down a heated division race and know they’ll need more thunder in the lineup to survive.
Eugenio Suarez might just be the jolt they’re missing. The 33-year-old slugger is in the middle of a phenomenal season, and his bat could change everything.
Fortunately, X-rays returned negative after being hit on the pinky during the All-Star game.
Suarez fits Yankee Stadium like a glove — or a cannon
This year, Suarez is hitting .250/.320/.569 with 31 homers, ranking among baseball’s best power threats.
He sits in the 86th percentile for barrel rate and 85th for hard-hit balls, numbers that highlight how consistently he’s crushing pitches.
What’s even more tantalizing? Out of those 31 homers, 27 would’ve cleared Yankee Stadium’s left field fence.
It’s almost unfair to picture Suarez pulling bombs into those cozy Bronx dimensions, like a golfer teeing off with a downhill wind.
Runners in scoring position — where Suarez shines, Yankees flounder
The Yankees have been flat-out dreadful with runners on second base, hitting .194/.345/.336 — the second worst in all of baseball.
By comparison, Suarez is an assassin in these moments, batting .333/.529/.833 for a gaudy 1.362 OPS.
Overall with runners in scoring position, he’s slashing .281/.378/.629 with a 1.007 OPS.
Adding a hitter this clutch could be the spark the Yankees desperately need when every big moment has recently felt like a gut punch.
Defensive concerns balanced by recent reality
Suarez isn’t a defensive wizard, sporting a .948 fielding percentage, 11 errors, and negative defensive metrics.
But next to what the Yankees have endured, he’s almost an upgrade by default.
Jazz Chisholm struggled badly at third, posting -3 defensive runs saved and -3 outs above average over just 238 innings.
So even with Suarez’s warts, the Yankees would likely see steadier play at the hot corner.
The true cost: Spencer Jones and Rodriguez-Cruz on the block?
Landing Suarez won’t come cheap, especially with multiple teams circling.
A realistic offer might include top prospects like Spencer Jones and Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz.
Jones, 24, has huge upside, flashing a .362/.426/.776 line with seven homers over 14 AAA games, but he also carries a scary 32.6% strikeout rate.
He’s a bit like a lottery ticket — he could become Aaron Judge-lite or crash out like Joey Gallo.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez-Cruz has been outstanding, boasting a 2.41 ERA across 89.2 innings.
He recently jumped to AA and might be the kind of cost-controlled arm a rebuilding team craves.
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Will Cashman finally pay the prospect price?
The Yankees have a history of “prospect hugging,” often refusing to deal big minor leaguers.
But with their recent slide dropping them to second in the AL East — now two games behind Toronto and just one up on Boston — the stakes are enormous.
General manager Brian Cashman might have to gamble, knowing a bat like Suarez could decide whether this team fades or goes on a deep October run.
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