Price Mariners paid for Eugenio Suárez will make you question Yankees' pursuit

When the All-Star break wrapped and Trade Season booted up, the New York Yankees were thought to be the early favorites for slugging Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez. It was at that point that the pre-detractors came out, questioning the Yankees over a move they hadn't even made yet.

Would they dare pay the escalating price for a rental slugger? Was the high price worth it, given the current state of the roster? Had the 2025 Yankees proven that they were worth investing in? Would Brian Cashman willingly give up Spencer Jones for two months of a known commodity? And why was Suárez getting hit in the hand so much?!

As it turns out, none of the critiques mattered. The Yankees traded for Ryan McMahon of the Colorado Rockies instead, prioritizing defense over the additional slug. At the time, it seemed like a combination of a talent and price-based pivot. After all, Suárez was the number one bat available at the deadline. He'd be worth a premium-plus in this seller's market. Add in the Yankees tax, and ... yeah, we could forgive Cashman for passing.

Except ... then Suárez actually did get dealt past midnight on the East Coast on Wednesday-into-Thursday, and even with the Yankees tax, this price had to be matchable. The Mariners surrendered three prospects, none of whom were in any Top 100 league-wide ranking. Tyler Locklear, their No. 9 in a deep system (a slugging first baseman) was the highlight of the package.

Unless the Diamondbacks were standing on business and actively trying to ruin the Yankees' (and only the Yankees') lives, it's now clear that cost had nothing to do with this decision. The Yankees wanted McMahon (or a similar defensively sound player) all along, and used erroneous cost reports as a smokescreen.

They're lucky McMahon has been phenomenal so far. Either lucky or very smart. Could be both.

Yankees chose Ryan McMahon over Eugenio Suarez, full-stop. The Mariners' price in a Suarez trade was highly unimpressive.

The Yankees might just see Suárez (and longtime enemy Josh Naylor) in the playoff bracket, at which point they'll have to directly reckon with their choice. They'd better have a beefed-up bullpen by then.

At the very least, Suárez didn't go to the worst possible destination after they let him linger in the wind; the Red Sox were reportedly considering bringing him to Fenway to play first base.

The next time the Yankees see Boston, they'll have a legitimate defensive threat stationed down the line ready to field hotshots for the first time all season. As long as they continue to do the rest of the necessary work on Thursday, they can remain confident that they had a plan and they executed it. But they'll have to hope they're never left hoping for something more, as the idea of Suárez being too costly for their market has been all but proven wrong.