Should Padres Make An Aggressive Waiver Claim on Either Eugenio Suarez or TJ Friedl?

[Randy Holt]

On Tuesday, the Cincinnati Reds placed each of third baseman/designated hitter Eugenio Suárez and outfielder TJ Friedl on waivers. This opens up the possibility of a contender fortifying their bench for the stretch run. Should the San Diego Padres be that contender?

In general, neither of Suárez or Friedl offer much appeal if we were to look at their 2026 output. Suárez has followed up his 49 home runs last season with only 19 this year, has a 91 wRC+, and is striking out at a 34.9 percent clip that is abnormal even by his standards. Friedl, meanwhile, was ousted as the Reds' starting center fielder earlier this year and has been absolutely miserable at the plate, slashing .158/.242/.234, with a brutal 33 wRC+ and a 23.3 percent strikeout rate that is seven percentage points above his career average. 

Neither player features much in the way of selling points. But the Padres are also in the process of sorting their bench. At present, the reserve group is especially outfield heavy following the option of Sung Mun Song to Triple-A El paso. That's left Luis Rengifo, Gavin Sheets, Jase Bowen, Austin Hays, and newly-selected Dustin Harris working their way through left field, designated hitter, and as bats off the bench. Samad Taylor is on a rehab assignment while Miguel Andujar has begun a throwing progression, indicating further movement is on the horizon. 

Whether that movement could be prompted sooner as the result of a claim of either Suárez or Friedl is a question worth asking for at least a moment. 

Suárez, for all his warts in the contact and strikeout elements of his game, is a legitimate power threat. He's eclipsed 30 home runs three times since 2021. His 10.6 percent barrel rate sits in the 69th percentile, three points above the big-league average. If there's a case to be made, it's here. 

Despite underwhelming numbers on the season as a whole, Suárez has walked more than usual (10.0 percent) and has been solid in August. As we reach the end of the month, he's contributed five homers and a 134 wRC+ to his full-season output. He's not going to offer much in the way of defensive acumen—even less so because his below average glove has only been seen at third base this year, a position which is quite occupied in San Diego—but as a right-handed option off the bench or as a designated hitter, it's not as if his addition would hurt. With the claiming team being on the hook for nearly $3 million, though, the positional limitation he'd add to the roster would be a difficult one to justify. 

As for Friedl, it's hard to find a reason for the Padres to put in a claim. He has a history of quality production at the plate as recently as 2025, but he's been quite miserable in every offensive respect this year (even if his defense in the outfield has remained above average). Outfield depth is not at all an area of need for San Diego, meaning that this isn't even one they'd remotely consider.

While we're loathe to underestimate A.J. Preller's aggression in upgrading the roster whenever possible, this doesn't appear to be a time where he'll be too active in doing so.

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