When it comes to the best hitters reported to be available before this year’s Trade Deadline on July 31, there’s D-backs third baseman Eugenio Suárez — and there’s everybody else.
Despite a strong résumé that includes six 30-homer seasons, Suárez has never been considered an elite hitter. But as the 34-year-old hits the trade market, this is perhaps as close as he’s gotten to that stratosphere.
So who needs Suárez the most? We took a look at each team’s lineup, playoff positioning and and pressure to win now and ranked them accordingly.
All stats below are through Friday.
Why are the Phillies atop this list? Because when you look at the way this roster is constructed, arguably no team is under more pressure to win now than Philadelphia. The Phillies got close with a World Series appearance in 2022, but they’ve taken a step back since then. Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos and Aaron Nola are all signed beyond 2025, but each is 32 or older. So are Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto, both of whom are in the final year of their contracts. ( Ranger Suárez, who will turn 30 on Aug. 26, is a pending free agent as well.)
While Philadelphia’s bullpen has been heavily scrutinized and remains an area the team should look to address — even after signing David Robertson — its star-studded lineup has been quietly underwhelming. Schwarber (160), Harper (137) and Turner (116) are the only Phillies with an OPS+ above 103 this season. Suárez would be a huge upgrade over Alec Bohm, who made the All-Star team in 2024 but has been roughly league average at the plate during the course of his career (103 OPS+) and was below that this season (96 OPS+) before sustaining a rib fracture.
On one hand, the Brewers are on a roll right now, recording MLB’s best record (36-14) since May 25, with rookie third baseman Caleb Durbin slashing .297/.380/.446 in that span. So they might not want to mess with a winning formula. On the other hand, Milwaukee is clearly in need of more power, even with Andrew Vaughn filling in admirably for injured first baseman Rhys Hoskins. Entering Saturday, the Brewers ranked 25th in homers (97) and 23rd in slugging (.383).
This is also a season that lacks a true juggernaut, giving the Brewers and their superb rotation as good a chance as anyone to make a run at what would be the first World Series championship in franchise history. Why not make a move to get the one major component they’re lacking by acquiring Suárez?
In some ways, the Mariners are the American League’s version of the Brewers — still chasing their first World Series title and built around a rotation that gives them a shot to get it this year. In terms of who needs Suárez more, we’ll slot Seattle slightly behind Milwaukee, given the M’s have already acquired a hitter (first baseman Josh Naylor) and are working with more firepower than the Crew.
Led by Raleigh’s MLB-best 39 homers, the Mariners rank sixth in the Majors in that department. They’ve also seen center fielder Julio Rodríguez’s bat start to heat up lately, with J-Rod producing six homers and a 1.231 OPS in his past 11 games. That said, we’re talking about a franchise with one playoff trip since the end of 2001. This isn’t the moment to get comfortable.
With Kyle Tucker headed for free agency at the end of this season and the Brewers recently leapfrogging them in the NL Central, the Cubs are another contender that needs to be aggressive at this year’s Trade Deadline.
Considering their high-octane offense, which has scored the second-most runs in MLB, adding an arm who can start a playoff game may be the Cubs’ top priority. But with the lack of frontline starters available, fortifying an already strong lineup could be the best way for Chicago to improve its championship odds, and Suárez is an obvious target for a club that ranks 29th in third-base production (63 wRC+).
The Reds might be hesitant to surrender future assets for a rental player when they aren’t an elite championship contender, but this is also an organization that hasn’t reached the playoffs in a non-shortened campaign since 2013. So, as they sit just one game out in the race for the third NL Wild Card spot, Cincinnati owes it to its fan base to make a strong push at the Deadline. The Reds can do that by going hard after the top hitter on the market, Suárez, who played for Cincinnati from 2015-21 and hit 189 home runs in the time.
Noelvi Marte’s return from the IL has shored up what was the least productive hot-corner situation in baseball while the 23-year-old was sidelined with a left oblique strain from May 5-July 3. But Marte shouldn’t be viewed as an impediment to acquiring Suárez, not when the Reds only have one hitter (Elly De La Cruz with 18) who has more than 11 dingers in 2025.
The Tigers still have MLB’s largest division lead (7 1/2 games entering Saturday), which is why they don’t rank higher on this list. But in the midst of a 1-11 stretch, Detroit’s chances of making a deep postseason run no longer look as promising as they once did. And while it may feel like the Tigers’ window is just beginning to open after they ended their postseason drought in 2024, they are facing a ticking clock with ace Tarik Skubal under control for just one more year after ’25.
As a result, Detroit should be operating with some level of urgency at the Deadline, especially in the offensive arena. First-half standouts like Javier Báez, Zach McKinstry, Gleyber Torres and Dillon Dingler have all cooled off, and the club’s lineup has followed suit, averaging just 3.8 runs per game since June 25 — fourth fewest in the Majors during that span. The Tigers have the fifth-worst wRC+ (79) at third base in 2025, so Suárez makes sense as a target.
Houston leads the American League West by five games, but the injuries are piling up and the Mariners and Rangers aren’t going away. According to Spotrac, no AL team has amassed more IL days this season than the Astros, who just lost third baseman Isaac Paredes to a right hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him for an extended period of time. Paredes joined DH Yordan Alvarez, shortstop Jeremy Peña and center fielder Jake Meyers among the notable Houston hitters currently on the IL.
While adding a left-handed hitter would be a more natural fit for a Houston club that ranks last in MLB in plate appearances taken by lefties (535), no one available in that category offers the same potential impact as Suárez, whose heavy pull-side power makes him a perfect match for Daikin Park and its short left-field porch. Given the state of their lineup, you could argue the Astros need Suárez’s bat as much as anyone. So why are they seventh? One reason: a lack of urgency compared to the other teams on this list. Yes, with Jose Altuve now 35 and Framber Valdez nearing free agency, Houston should still be in win-now mode. But this is also a club with two championships and two additional World Series appearances since 2017. The stakes just aren’t quite as high for them.
