Revisiting Tigers-Reds Eugenio Suarez trade over 10 years later after epic 4-HR game

While the Detroit Tigers had the day off on Saturday before completing their doubleheader sweep of the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, one of their former players was busy making history out west.

Veteran infielder Eugenio Suárez, now with the Arizona Diamondbacks, became the 19th player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a single game in what would end up being an 8-7 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

Detroit fans mustn't forget that Suarez was once upon a Tiger. That power would be pretty valuable at third base right now, wouldn't it?

The Tigers originally signed Suárez out of Venezuela back in 2008, and he made his Major League debut with Detroit six years later in 2014. He put up rather pedestrian numbers during his rookie season, slashing .242/.316/.336 with four homers, 14 extra-base hits and 23 RBI in 85 games.

After the 2014 season, the Tigers ended up shipping Suárez to the Cincinnati Reds as part of a trade package for starting pitcher Alfredo Simón. Suárez has gone on to hit 20-plus home runs in eight out of 10 seasons following the trade, including four seasons with 30 or more (and a career-high 49 in 2019). After his four-homer night on Saturday, Suárez is already up to 10 in 2025, and that leads MLB.

Revisiting the Tigers-Reds Eugenio Suarez trade over 10 years later after epic 4-homer game

Four-homer game or not, the Suárez trade is still probably one that the Tigers wish they could do over. At the time, the trade made sense for both sides. The Tigers had a hole to fill in their starting rotation, and Simón was coming off the best season of his career in 2014. The Reds were rebuilding and therefore placed more value on prospects and young players with upside like Suárez and Crawford.

Now, with more than a decade's worth of hindsight, it's painfully clear that the Tigers were the losers in the trade. Simón was so bad in his one season with the Tigers that they didn't even bring him back in free agency, and his Major League career came to an end the following year.

While Crawford didn't pan out at the Major League level, Suárez went on to become one of the best young power hitters in the league. The Reds signed him to a seven-year, $66 million extension before the 2018 season and ended up trading him to the Seattle Mariners in 2022. Suárez is currently in his second season with Arizona after Seattle traded him there in November 2023.

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