Seattle Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suárez received recognition, winning his second Luis Aparicio Award on October 25, which is presented to the best Venezuelan Major League Baseball player after each season.
This award has been around for 22 years, and Miguel Cabrera, Suárez’s former teammate with the Detroit Tigers, has won a record five Aparicio awards. Suárez was born in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, and signed with the Tigers as an international free agent out of Venezuela in 2009.
Suárez, 34, also won this award in 2019 when he was on the Cincinnati Reds. He had an incredible season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and was traded to the Mariners this past trade deadline for right-handed pitchers Juan Burgos, Hunter Cranton, and first baseman Tyler Locklear on July 31, 2025.
He hit 49 home runs which was fifth in MLB and was fourth in MLB with 118 RBIs. His slashline was .228/.296/.526 in 588 at-bats. Suárez helped the Mariners advance to game seven of the American League Championship against the Toronto Blue Jays and they lost 4-3 to the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre in Ontario.
Suárez had an uneven postseason with a slash line of .213/.275/.700 in 47 at-bats, but he had the biggest hit of their postseason run with a game-winning grand slam against the Blue Jays reliever Brandon Little at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. He also had a solo home run earlier in that game and drove in five of the six Mariners’ runs in their 6-2 win in game 5 of the ALCS.
Suárez has played several winters back in his homeland with Leones del Caracas in the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional and also played for Venezuela in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He is ready to return for the upcoming WBC in 2026 and represent his country as he did in the 2023 WBC.
Suárez is a 12-year MLB veteran and two-time All-Star. His 325 career home runs are third in MLB history for a Venezuelan-born MLB player, trailing Andrés Galarraga at 399 home runs, and Miguel Cabrera, who has 511.
Suárez will have an uncertain future heading into the MLB offseason because he is a free agent, but it’s possible the Mariners could re-sign him. Suárez was also a Mariner in the 2022 and 2023 seasons and he really likes the clubhouse and environment in Seattle.
Photo: Eugenio Suarez is the 2025 Luis Aparacio Award winner. (AP Photo)
