Slugger Eugenio Surez and the Cincinnati Reds have agreed to a one-year, $15 million contract with a mutual option, sources told ESPN, reuniting him with the team that helped him blossom into a consistent home run threat.
Coming off a season in which he blasted 49 home runs, the 34-year-old Surez lingered for months in free agency, with teams spooked by his subpar second half. Cincinnati pounced anyway, with limited downside on a one-year pact that includes a $16 million option with no buyout, which is highly unlikely to be picked up by both parties.
Surez was among the most coveted bats at the trade deadline last year after hitting 36 home runs in 106 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks, earning him his second All-Star Game selection. Following a trade to Seattle for three pitching prospects, Surez hit .189/.255/.428 with 13 home runs in 53 games, dragging his final numbers down to .228/.298/.526, although he finished with a career-high 118 RBIs.
A return to Great American Ball Park, the friendliest stadium for home runs in the major leagues, should help Surez's chances at replicating his first-half numbers. A third baseman for the majority of his career, Surez is likely to receive most of his at-bats at designated hitter, sources said, with Ke'Bryan Hayes manning third base and highly regarded rookie Sal Stewart slated to take over full time at first base.
Surez's postseason experience and renown as an additive clubhouse presence appealed to the Reds, who made the postseason last year for the first time in a full season since 2013. Surez's go-ahead grand slam against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series put the Mariners one win away from their first World Series appearance before they lost the final two games.
A durable player who has missed just seven games in the past three seasons, Surez just missed 50 home runs for the second time, also hitting 49 for the Reds in 2019. He has led his league three times in strikeouts and fanned 196 times in 2025, fourth most in the majors.
Surez ranks sixth in the majors with 227 home runs since 2019, has topped 30 in four of five seasons since 2021 and has hit 325 in his career.
ESPN's David Schoenfield contributed to this report.
