Chicago Cubs killer returns to the NL Central

Cubs fans on Twitter (X) collectively groaned Sunday afternoon when news broke that free agent slugger Eugenio Suárez signed with the Cincinnati Reds. It’s a one-year deal with a mutual option in 2027, per Jeff Passan. One of the last remaining notable bats on the market, Suárez (34), returns to the team he played for from 2015 to 2021, and where his reign of terror over the North Siders began.

Suárez is a career .266/.349/.540 hitter against the Cubs with 36 homers and 94 RBI in 132 games. Those homers and RBI are the most he has against any opponent; 16 of those homers came at Wrigley Field. It’s also worth noting he has 14 career multi-homer games, with three of them coming against the Cubs, two of them as a Red. Last season he hit five of his 49 homers (which tied a career-high) against the Cubs as a member of the Diamondbacks.

His power and past performance against the Cubs had many fans on board with the idea of acquiring Suárez at last year’s trade deadline. That dream ended with Seattle swooping in and acquiring him last July.

Dealing with the Cubs killer in Suárez again.

While not having reached the levels of Albert Pujols or Mike Schmidt, Suárez has always been a thorn in the sides of Cubs pitchers. He’s arguably the biggest, if not in the top three, of active Cubs killers. That is not to say he has not done damage against other teams, boasting 325 career home runs and .792 OPS in 12 years as an MLB player. He just particularly loves facing the boys in blue.

Suárez has holes in his swing; he’s struck out 139 times against Cubs pitching (second-most to any opponent), but he makes the most of the damage he does do. He can kill you with the long ball, but he can be bested. The key is keeping him in the park. Cubs fans who watched the team battle the Reds at Great American Ballpark from 2015 to 2021 know that’s a difficult task in that hitter-friendly ballpark.

The Reds are coming off an 83-win campaign in which they nabbed the last Wild Card spot. Their young rotation is very promising, but they lacked sufficient offensive firepower last season. This move definitely helps the Reds, who can compete for a playoff spot again. While the Brewers are still the Cubs’ biggest threat, the Reds are next in line in the NL Central.

At least Cubs fans will get to hear Pat Hughes pronounce “‘Aye-You-Hey-Knee-Oh’ Suárez” so eloquently on the radio broadcast more often.

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