Eugenio Suarez Temporarily Leaves Cincinnati Reds for Personal Reasons

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez has had an eventful first season back with the organization. Signed this past offseason to a one-year, $15 million deal, Suarez was supposed to boost Cincinnati's offense after it was a liability last year. 

Unfortunately, it has not worked out according to plan. Just one year after smashing 49 home runs split between the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks, he has struggled to stay healthy. He missed nearly a month after suffering a left oblique strain in April.

Even when on the field, he has been a shell of himself. Across 107 games, the 35-year-old veteran has posted a .206 batting average, .298 on-base percentage, .708 OPS, 20 home runs and 59 RBIs. 

Suarez was placed on outright waivers back in late August alongside TJ Friedl, but ultimately cleared them and returned to the team. No team in MLB wanted to pay for the remainder of his contract.

Even if Suarez had been playing better, the Reds still likely would have made the decision to send him through waivers given their small-market nature and desire to get younger players more opportunities. Suarez will spend the next four weeks with Cincinnati as the Reds are not in the playoff picture and will not be playing baseball in October. 

However, Suarez is currently away from the team for personal reasons and will miss the remainder of the current series against the San Diego Padres, not returning until Friday's series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The reason for his absence is that he has to take the United States naturalization test, according to Theo DeRosa of MLB.com 

Suarez is a Venezuelan native who has spent his entire 13-year MLB career in this country and has decided he wants to make it his permanent home. The way the naturalization process works, applicants cannot choose the date and time of their exam and interview, which is why stepping away from the team during this stretch was unavoidable. 

It is unclear what the future holds for Suarez professionally, but it is unlikely his mutual option will be picked up by the Reds this offseason, not only because of his on-field struggles but also because the contract is expensive for a small-market organization looking to prioritize younger players.

Whatever comes next on the baseball side, his decision to become an American citizen is a meaningful personal milestone that goes well beyond anything happening in the standings, and it deserves to be recognized as such.