Detroit Tigers trade targets to fix bullpen problem at All-Star break
On “Days of Roar” podcast, Evan Petzold evaluates relief pitching for Detroit Tigers at MLB All-Star break — and the big need to win the World Series.
ATLANTA — The Arizona Diamondbacks are expected to be sellers at the July 31 trade deadline, which means two-time All-Star third baseman Eugenio Suárez is likely to be on the move.
Suárez, an impending free agent, is hitting .250 with 31 home runs and a National League-leading 78 RBIs through 95 games, with an .889 OPS. In late April, he became the 19th player in MLB history to hit four homers in a game. The 34-year-old has been one of the best right-handed sluggers in the 2025 season.
And he already knows where he wants to play.
The Detroit Tigers.
“To finish where everything started, it would be cool,” Suárez said Monday, July 14, just one day before participating in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game. “It would mean a lot to me.”
Nearly 17 years ago, the Tigers signed Suárez out of Venezuela for a $10,000 bonus during the 2008 international signing period. He climbed through the minor leagues — from the Venezuelan Summer League to Triple-A Toledo — before making his MLB debut with the Tigers in 2014.
His debut came June 4, 2014, against the Toronto Blue Jays at Comerica Park. He appeared in 85 games that season, hitting .242 with four home runs.
On Dec. 11, 2014, the Tigers traded Suárez (and pitching prospect Jonathon Crawford) to the Cincinnati Reds for right-hander Alfredo Simón. Since the trade, Suárez has played for the Reds, Seattle Mariners and Diamondbacks.
“Since I was there, it’s been a lot different,” Suárez said, comparing the Tigers of the 2010s to the 2025 Tigers. “It’s a new team with a lot of young guys and a lot of talent. I think they have a really good chance to make it more than the playoffs this year.”
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Tigers hold a 59-38 record and an 11½-game lead in the American League Central, but they could use upgrades: a swing-and-miss reliever (or two) and a right-handed hitting third baseman.
Suárez thinks the Tigers can win the World Series in 2025.
He is still searching for his first championship after losing in the 2014 ALDS with the Tigers, the 2020 NL wild-card series with the Reds and the 2022 ALDS with the Mariners.
“They got, for me, the best pitcher in the league right now: Tarik Skubal,” Suárez said. “They got a bunch of good players. I think they really have a chance to win it all this year.”
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For the Tigers, utility man Zach McKinstry — who replaced Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña in the All-Star Game — serves as the primary third baseman, though he has played six positions this season, including more than 200 innings in the outfield.
McKinstry is a candidate for regression in the final two-plus months: He hit .285 with an .836 OPS in his first 88 games after entering 2025 with a .220 batting average and a .643 OPS over 387 games in his career.
It makes sense for the Tigers to pursue Suárez at the July 31 trade deadline.
“We never know,” said Suárez, a .249 hitter with a .794 OPS in his 12-year MLB career, spanning 1,566 games. “Baseball is baseball. I might be finishing where everything started. It doesn’t sound crazy. We’ll see.”
If Suárez lands elsewhere at the trade deadline — with the Mariners, Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees among the potential suitors — the Tigers would still have another opportunity to acquire him in free agency this offseason.
He is “definitely” interested in joining the Tigers.
“All 30 teams are going to be on the list,” Suárez said, “and Detroit is going to be one of those.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This story was updated to add a gallery.
