Late Night Reds - The Cincinnati Reds Take A BIG Swing and Sign Suárez

·45 min·2 clips

With Suárez behind him, Elly De La Cruz no longer has to be the RBI and home run guy.

1. The Riverfront: A Cincinnati Reds Show's "Late Night Reds" reacts to the Reds signing Eugenio Suárez to a one-year, $15 million deal with a mutual option and no buyout, roughly two weeks before pitchers and catchers report. 2. Skyler Webker hosts and is joined by Ben Brown, who says he saw the ESPN alert while heading to dinner and rushed to text it out. 3. Their thesis is that the Suárez signing completes an offseason in which, in Brown's words, the Reds "checked every box" after months of "gotta get a bat" talk that followed missing out on Kyle Schwarber. 4. They report that Suárez turned down other offers, with the Mariners wanting only a short-term deal, the Pirates offering similar or more money, and the Red Sox not yet submitting an offer, and they say he "just wants to be here." 5. They quote Charlie Goldsmith's Substack, which says the Reds did not need to shed payroll for the move, and credit fan and media pressure after the Schwarber miss for the spending. 6. They argue a "down year" for Suárez would still mean 30 to 35 home runs and about 100 RBI with T.J. Friedl and Elly De La Cruz ahead of him, and that he gives infield depth if Matt McLain or Brian Hayes goes down. 7. They say Suárez takes pressure off Sal Stewart, who no longer has to be a "35, 40 home run guy," and off De La Cruz, who was pushed into an RBI and power role. 8. They value a lineup that doesn't need lefty-righty platooning, comparing it to the old Cleveland Indians lineups, and project 85 to 87 wins and a wild-card spot or better, with the Brewers still ahead. 9. They highlight Joey Votto as color commentator on seven Sunday NBC games, and Webker notes Votto hit 31 home runs in 2022 coming off shoulder surgery as a benchmark for a veteran's floor. 10. Reds fans and anyone tracking the 2026 NL Central race will get the most from this.

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