NEW YORK — The Cincinnati Reds placed veteran slugger Eugenio Suarez on outright waivers Wednesday, according to a report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
It opens a late-August route for the Yankees to add a proven right-handed bat without making a trade.
Cincinnati also placed outfielder TJ Friedl on waivers. The other 29 clubs have a 48-hour window to submit claims. Because MLB’s 2026 trade deadline passed Aug. 3, the Reds cannot negotiate a trade or receive players in return if Suarez is claimed.
The timing matters to the Yankees because Ryan McMahon is on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 2 sprain of his left thumb. New York is using Jose Caballero and Amed Rosario at third base while McMahon recovers.
Yankees get a rare post-deadline route
A claiming club would assume the money remaining on Suarez’s contract and place him on its 40-man roster. Cincinnati would receive salary relief, not a prospect package.
Suarez signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Reds in February. The deal includes a $16 million mutual option for 2027 with no buyout. About $3 million remains on his 2026 salary.
The 35-year-old entered Thursday hitting .208 with a .295 on-base percentage and .410 slugging percentage in 103 games. He has 19 home runs and 57 RBIs through 410 plate appearances.
His latest homer came hours before the waiver report. Suarez hit a ninth-inning grand slam Wednesday as Cincinnati erased a six-run deficit in a 10-9 win over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.
The Reds still ended the day 63-71, last in the NL Central and nine games out of the final National League wild-card spot.
McMahon injury changes the fit
McMahon hurt his thumb Aug. 19 in Baltimore while trying to stretch a single into a double. The Yankees placed him on the injured list Aug. 21, retroactive to Aug. 20.
The 31-year-old is batting .216 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs in 106 games. He said the injury did not appear to require surgery and expected to miss only the minimum amount of time.
That timetable would make Suarez more of a short-term depth and lineup decision than a long-term replacement at third base.
The Yankees also know Suarez well from the trade market. New York was heavily linked to him before the 2025 deadline but instead acquired McMahon from Colorado on July 25 for pitching prospects Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz.
Suarez later moved from Arizona to Seattle and finished 2025 with 49 home runs and a career-high 118 RBIs before returning to Cincinnati as a free agent.
But waiver rules complicate Yankees chances
The main obstacle for New York is waiver priority.
MLB awards an outright-waiver claim to the club with the lower winning percentage when more than one team submits a claim. The Yankees entered Thursday 75-57, 3 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East and holding the American League’s top wild-card position.
That strong record works against them in this process.
After Wednesday’s games, only Milwaukee, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay and Atlanta had better winning percentages than the Yankees. Since Cincinnati cannot claim its own player, 24 other clubs would rank ahead of New York in a theoretical claim involving every eligible team.
Any one of those clubs could prevent Suarez from reaching the Yankees by filing a claim.
The calendar still fits. A claim completed before MLB’s postseason eligibility cutoff would leave Suarez eligible for October. The Yankees would also need 40-man space and an active-roster opening to carry him.
Power still drives the case for Suarez
Suarez has not matched that production in 2026. His overall offensive line has slipped, while his strikeout rate has remained close to 35 percent.
His right-handed power remains the attraction. Wednesday’s grand slam was the 344th homer of his career. He also reached 49 home runs in 2019, giving him two seasons at that mark.
For the Yankees, a claim would offer a veteran power source without surrendering more farm-system talent. The tradeoff would be the remaining salary, a roster spot and uncertainty over how much Suarez would play once McMahon returns.
The bigger issue is whether New York ever gets the choice.
Suarez remains with Cincinnati while the waiver window plays out. The Yankees have a roster need and a familiar target, but most of the league would have first priority if multiple claims are submitted.
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