For the first time since before the pandemic shut down the league for four months, Cincinnati Reds ownership extended its payroll budget to sign a player to help reach the playoffs.
It may not seem like much to some fans – “How brave of them to go from a low payroll to a slightly less of a low payroll,” one posted on social media.
But it comes at a time the club is projected to lose perhaps $10 million or more in revenues through its uncertain TV rights transition to MLB’s platform.
Eugenio Suárez returns to Cincinnati Reds
And it was the difference in being able to land an ideal fit for the lineup and clubhouse in popular slugger Eugenio Suárez, who returned to Cincinnati on a one-year, $15 million deal that was finalized early this week – and that makes him the highest-paid player on this year’s payroll.
“It’s something that we weren’t sure that we were going to be able to do, but it’s great that we were able to get Geno,” said team president Nick Krall, who added that he approached ownership last week once the potential contract terms appeared to firm up.
“I talked to Bob and Phil (Castellini), and we said this is probably where it’s going to go and what we’re going to need that would be above and beyond our budget. And they approved it,” Krall said. “We were excited to be able to go that and go get him.”
Cincinnati Reds 2026 salary budget
The Reds already had created at least $3 million payroll space with the net salaries exchanged in the three-team trade that sent Gavin Lux to the Rays and landed reliever Brock Burke from the Angels.
“That saved us a little bit of money, but it wasn’t necessarily to make this move,” Krall said. “This is something we were able to do above and beyond.”
Until last week’s meeting, the Reds’ budget was frozen at roughly last year’s levels. And all but tapped.
Krall wouldn’t say how much ownership stretched the budget, but based on payroll projections it appears to be around $10 million.
The team doesn’t expect to make any other trades that would free up payroll space. And Krall talked after the Suárez signing as if, perhaps obviously, the club was done with big-league offseason acquisitions.
As for another possible avenue for trimming 2026 obligations around the edges, Krall said he expects to go to hearings with both remaining unsigned arbitration-eligible players, as opposed to negotiating potentially backloaded multi-year deals with pitcher Graham Ashcraft and, in particular, catcher Tyler Stephenson.
“We’ve had some discussions, but we are prepared to go to a case,” Krall said.
Ashcraft (who seeks $1.75 million vs. the club’s $1.25 million offer) is scheduled for a Feb. 5 hearing. Stephenson ($6.8 million vs. $6.55 million) is scheduled for Feb. 9.
As much as anything, the Reds were able to make a deal with the two-time All-Star because Suárez seemed to want to return to Cincinnati as much as the Reds wanted him back.
“It’s perfect. That’s why I’m here. Because it’s perfect,” said Suárez, who characterized the Reds as the team that showed the most interest from early in the offseason and stayed in the most constant contact.
Krall credited assistant general manager Jeff Graupe with keeping the lines of communication open all winter but said substantive talks didn’t begin until right around the time of that ownership meeting.
“We didn’t really negotiate and come to ‘hey this is going to be the road we can down’ until probably about 10 days ago,” Krall said.
Who else tried to land Eugenio Suárez?
Suárez had multiple teams pursuing him since matching his career high with 49 home runs in 2025, including a Seattle Mariners club that traded at the deadline to acquire him for the second time and missed the franchise’s first World Series by the margin of a one-run, Game 7 loss to Toronto.
When asked if he left money or years on the table return to Cincinnati on a deal that includes a $16 mutual option for 2027, Suárez said:
“It wasn’t about years. It’s about where you want to be. We worked on two years, and we put it together. We got one year with a mutual option that basically makes the deal work for both sides. That’s what we were looking for.”
The chance to win with the Reds competitive core and manager, the familiarity with the team and city, and the hitter-friendly nature of a ballpark he knows well all were reasons Suárez listed for why the return was “perfect” from his standpoint.
He hit 189 of his 325 career home runs during his seven seasons with the Reds − including 49 in 2019.
Certainly, Seattle would seem to have as strong a chance to get to the World Series as the Reds in 2026. But pitcher-friendly Seattle also is where his power production fell off (13 homers, .428 slugging in 53 games) after a trade last summer from Arizona (36, .576 in 106).
“I can’t speak to what he had on the table (from other clubs). But I know he really wanted to be here,” Krall said. “This was a top choice of his based on being in Cincinnati, being with this group; it’s a good culture and a good group of guys. I think that’s something he wanted to be part of.”
New and familiar faces in Cincinnati Reds clubhouse
Suárez said he’s talked with manager Terry Francona and star shortstop Elly De La Cruz among lots of early conversations that also included a text right away from veteran closer Emilio Pagán, whom he hadn’t gotten to know before in his career.
“That means a lot,” he said.
All of the familiarity seemed to make Krall’s pitch – to ownership and Suárez alike – easier than it might have been otherwise.
“We just told him that this is a good place for you to play; it’s obviously a good park for you to hit in,” Krall said. “We had a lot of discussions.
“There’s a familiarity there, and it’s something that we could just tell he wanted to be here, which was a big deal.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Cincinnati Reds ownership stretched budget to sign Eugenio Suárez
Reporting by Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
