Rangers Likely to Face Eugenio Suarez After Mariners Acquire Slugger

The Texas Rangers were facing the Los Angeles Angels when the news came down that they would likely face Eugenio Suarez this weekend.

The Rangers start their four-game series with the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, and first pitch will be less than a day after the Mariners reportedly acquired Suarez from the Arizona Diamondbacks for three prospects — two pitchers and a first baseman.

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ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report the deal. The finalization of the deal was pending a physical. He was hit by a pitch during the D-backs’ recent series against the Detroit Tigers, another team that was pursuing the 34-year-old.

Last week, Seattle addressed its need for power at first base by going to the Diamondbacks and acquiring Josh Naylor. Now, with Suarez, the Mariners are fully positioned to make a run at the Houston Astros, who just took two out of three games from the Washington Nationals and lead the American League West Division.

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Suarez is having a huge season as he enters free agency. Suarez is slashing .248/.320/.576 with 36 home runs and 87 RBI. He will now pair with Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who has led the American League in home runs for much of the season.  

Houston (62-47) has a five-game lead over both the Mariners (57-52) and the Rangers (57-52), the latter of which beat the Angels, 6-3, on Wednesday, snapping a two-game losing streak.

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It’s unlikely Suarez will play on Thursday for Seattle. The Diamondbacks were in Detroit on a road trip and were traveling back to Sacramento for an off day before starting a series with the Athletics on Friday.  

The series is pivotal for the Rangers. After an 8-1 homestand that helped them erase part of the deficit in the AL West, they lost two of three games to the Angels but remained within striking distance of the Astros. In addition, Texas is tied with Seattle for the final AL Wild Card berth.

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But the Mariners already have the tiebreaker in place, as they have a 7-2 lead in the head-to-head with the Rangers. Even if Texas sweeps the four-game series, then Seattle would maintain its edge.

Texas has set its starting pitchers for the series. Kumar Rocker will start on Thursday, Jack Leiter will start on Friday, Jacob deGrom on Saturday and Patrick Corbin on Sunday.

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