July 31, 2025, was once considered the moment the Seattle Mariners officially “went all-in” for the rest of the season. Eugenio Suárez returned. “Good Vibes Only” came back to the Pacific Northwest. And in that moment, everything felt right.
The Mariners didn’t just bring home a bat. They brought back memories, emotions, and a belated redemption for the salary dump that sent Suárez to Arizona. A team tied 58–52 needed a morale boost—and Geno seemed like the answer.
And then… he gave them an immortal moment.
The grand slam in Game 5 of the ALCS didn’t just change the game. It changed the emotions of a fan base accustomed to disappointment. Two home runs in the same playoff game, pushing the Mariners to the brink of the World Series—that’s what Seattle had been waiting for decades. Even if history didn’t go as planned, that moment will live on.
But once the emotions subsided, the Mariners had to face the rest of the story.
Eugenio Suárez, in his second stint with the Mariners, was no longer the version they remembered. The numbers don’t lie, and they weren’t pleasant:
With Diamondbacks: OPS .897, 36 HR
With Mariners: OPS .685, 16 HR
Not because he didn’t try. Not because he didn’t give. But because time—which spares no one—had begun to show. At 34, the Mariners got a close look at the very reasons why they couldn’t enter the race to keep him this winter.
And they didn’t.
Suárez signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds. The Mariners only talked about the possibility of a reunion. The ship had already set sail. And on the surface, that… didn’t cause outrage.
They didn’t overpay for Geno. Tyler Locklear—the key piece in the trade—even had injury problems. The Mariners “bought” a playoff run, an emotional explosion, and an irreplaceable chapter in their memory. In that respect, the trade was entirely worthwhile.
But there’s also a lingering sense of unease.
By letting Geno go, the Mariners are putting themselves in a precarious position. Third base is now given to Ben Williamson—good defense but a light bat—or Colt Emerson, a talent who has never been tested in MLB. Meanwhile, Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati is ready to turn Suárez into… another 40+ homer.
If that happens, the question returns to Seattle: is this a delayed self-own?
Possibly. But for now, the Mariners seem to have accepted the trade-off. They kept the memory, not the contract. They chose to move on instead of clinging to the past—even if that past was beautiful.
Eugenio Suárez gave Seattle everything he had in that brief time. A moment no one can take away. And sometimes, in baseball as in life, that’s enough to say, “Thank you, and good luck.”
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