Was Eugenio Suárez's September a mirage or a sign of things to come?

PITTSBURGH – Eugenio Suárez received votes for National League Player of the Month in September, a big feat considering he started games against only left-handed pitchers at the beginning of the month. 

At the end of a frustrating season, Suárez finally looked like the guy everyone expected. He hit .370 with eight doubles, eight homers, 13 RBI and 15 runs in his final 25 games, posting a .460 on-base percentage.

The Reds slid out of the wild-card race throughout September, but Suárez’s surge wasn’t insignificant. He hopes it’ll become momentum for the 2022 season. At the least, it was something positive in a disappointing season.

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“Every good player – and great player in this case – goes through tough stretches and tough years,” Reds manager David Bell said. “By no means does that mean you can’t bounce back from that. That’s what I fully expect from Geno. He’s too good, too talented and cares too much. I fully expect and have confidence he’s going to bounce back and have a great year next year.”

Suárez pointed toward the team’s series in Miami as a turning point. He didn’t play well in the series, striking out in three of his four at-bats at the end of August, but it was a chance to head home and spend time with his wife and two daughters.

The trip home came at a time when he was demoted into a part-time role, splitting time at third base with Mike Moustakas. He had a .171 batting average, the lowest in the Majors among regular starters.

“I started feeling better when we went to Miami,” Suárez said. “I went to my house, talked to my wife and thought about the last month. She helped me to think about good things only. Don’t worry about what happened in the past. Just think about the future.

“I came back to Cincy and working on my approach, working on my mechanics, where are my hands, what is my mind doing, and thinking about all that stuff and putting everything together, and it started working in the games. I got more opportunity to play and I told David, ‘If you give me more opportunity, I’ll be all right.’ I got it and you see what happened in September.”

One of the big questions facing the Reds is what to do at third base next season. Suárez is owed $35 million over the next three years, which was viewed a team-friendly salary after his strong offensive seasons in 2018 and ’19.

A platoon between Suárez and Moustakas is unsustainable with their combined $27 million salary. Suárez has the higher ceiling – he leads the Majors in homers (129) since 2018 – but he’s struggled for two consecutive seasons. A universal designated hitter is expected to be implemented next year, but the Reds typically prioritize flexibility.

There isn’t an easy explanation for Suárez’s major dip offensively. He had shoulder surgery before the 2020 season and maybe that had lingering effects. He had some bad trends this year, drawing fewer walks and striking out at a higher rate. He stopped mashing sinkers. He was hitting more fly balls instead of line drives. One of the adjustments he made in the last month was keeping his front elbow closer to his body.

“For me, finishing hard is big time,” Suárez said before the team’s last game of the season. “That’s all that matters right now to me. I can go home and think about what I did the last month.

"This last month is what I want to be for the rest of my career. Stay like this, keep a strong mind, just think about good things and that’s what I did this last month. It made me feel so happy and proud of myself for everything that I did even with my (usual) numbers not there.”

So, what version of Suárez can the Reds rely on for next season? The one who had a .169/.255/.363 slash line in his first 120 games with 15 doubles, 23 homers and 66 RBI, or the one who hit .370/.460/.808 in the last 25 games?

“I think he made some nice adjustments mechanically that he got a feeling of what he needs to do,” Bell said. “I think he can hold on to that instead of spending all winter searching. From that standpoint, it does give all of us confidence.”

Said Suárez: “I’ve got to come ready from the beginning next year, start strong and finish strong. Think about good results and have a good year, better than the last two years for me. This year has been learning for me.”