Former Seattle Mariners Fan-Favorite Makes Return to Seattle For Cincinnati Reds

· Yahoo Sports

Former Seattle Mariners and now Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez speaks to the media before a game between the Mariners and Reds at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. | Teren Kowatsch/Roundtable Sports

SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners are winners of three of their last four games, back to .500 (50-50) and in striking distance of retaking first place in the American League West.

The Mariners began the second half of the series with a series win over the San Francisco Giants over the weekend. They'll close out their first homestand of the second half with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds, beginning at 6:40 p.m. PT on Monday at T-Mobile Park.

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With Cincinnati coming into town, Seattle will also be welcoming back an old friend.

Reds third baseman/designated hitter Eugenio "Geno" Suarez will be returning to T-Mobile Park for the first time since departing the Mariners in free agency this past offseason.

Suarez has had two stints with Seattle and has made an impact in both.

In Suarez's first stint with the Mariners from 2022-23, the Mariners acquired the two-time All-Star in a trade with (ironically) Cincinnati on March 14, 2022. That season, Seattle broke its 21-year playoff drought. Suarez played a significant role on the team that season and hit 31 homers and had 87 RBIs.

After the '23 season, the Mariners dealt Suarez to the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he played for the next year-and-a-half, making his second All-Star game in '25.

Last season, in need of power, Seattle reacquired Suarez from Arizona at the trade deadline. In his half-year back in the Pacific Northwest, Suarez slashed .189/.255/.428 with a .683 OPS in 53 games and hit nine doubles and 13 home runs with 31 RBIs.

The Mariners ended up winning the American League West for the first time since 2001 and made it to the American League Championship Series, also the first time since 2001 the club accomplished the feat.

Seattle advanced to Game 7 of the ALCS before being eliminated by eventual pennant winners, the Toronto Blue Jays, the closed the M's have been to a World Series in their history.

Suarez had one of the most crucial hits of the Mariners postseason. In Game 5 of the ALCS, Suarez's last at T-Mobile Park as a member of the team, he hit a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the eighth.

"Really good to see Geno," Seattle manager Dan Wilson said in a postgame interview Monday. "Just an incredible person. Incredible player, what he's done on the field is remarkable, but what he's done off the field and just what he brought to our clubhouse and what he brings to this game — he's one of the good people in this game. Goes beyond just being a good teammate. He's got the ability to show up and be the same person every day. I think that's a superpower in this game, and he's got that in spades. ... He's just a solid person all around."

As alluded to by Wilson, Suarez's impact on the team went beyond his performance on the field. In 2022, Suarez coined the term "good vibes only," which referred to the 13-season veteran's ability to keep a positive and upbeat attitude day in and day out.

That phrase became a calling card for the Mariners' postseason drought-breaking season, and is enshrined in a bright neon sign in the tunnel from Seattle's dugout to its clubhouse.

Suarez's attitude and play helped buoy the team in the two most successful seasons in the club's recent history, and he adhered himself to the fans as a result.

Even before the game began Monday, Suarez had already felt the love from fans being back in the Pacific Northwest, and showed his appreciation from his time with the team.

"Very special (place)," Suarez said in a pregame interview Monday. "Seattle's been nice to me. It's got part of my heart here. The way they treat me, the way they treat my family, it was really special for me. I think I had a lot of good moments here in Seattle. ... That last game here was very special to me. ... It's very special to be back and already see fans on the street around the hotel room and the hotel recognize my face and say 'hello' to me and 'welcome back home.' It is very special. ... It feels good to be back."

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