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The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired Eugenio Suarez in a trade with the Seattle Mariners, filling their vacancy at third base and adding much-needed power to their lineup.

The Mariners received right-hander Carlos Vargas and veteran catcher Seby Zavala for Suarez, who has belted at least 21 home runs in each of the past seven full seasons.

The reigning National League champion Diamondbacks were in need of a third baseman when three-time All-Star Evan Longoria became a free agent this month. Longoria, 38, appeared in just 74 games during the regular season but started 16 of 17 games at the hot corner during Arizona’s postseason run.

“It adds a little bit of stability at that spot,” Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said. “He’s a guy we’ve liked for a long time.”

Suarez, 32, will make just over $11 million in 2024 — the final guaranteed year of a seven-year contract that also includes a $15 million club option for 2025. His 7.2 WAR over the past two seasons is ninth among all major league third basemen.

Suarez batted .232 with 22 homers and 96 RBIs but also struck out a league-leading 214 times this past season, his second with the Mariners. He was an All-Star with the Cincinnati Reds in 2018 and enjoyed his best season in the majors the following year, when he had a career-high 49 homers and 103 RBIs.

But Suarez has struggled to make consistent contact over the past four years, starting with the COVID-shortened 2020 season when he batted just .202 despite hitting 15 homers in 60 games with Cincinnati.

Suarez, who has batted just .221 since 2020 and has led the AL in strikeouts in each of the past two seasons, will join a Diamondbacks lineup that finished tied for 10th in the NL this season with 166 homers.

Arizona ranked 26th in baseball in WAR by third basemen in 2023. Of the five players who played that position for Arizona last season, three are already off the roster — Longoria is a free agent, Josh Rojas was traded to Seattle at the trade deadline, and Buddy Kennedy was lost on waivers to the St. Louis Cardinals. Jace Peterson and Emmanuel Rivera remain from the group and figure to fill reserve and/or platoon roles.

Vargas, 24, made five relief appearances during the regular season while Zavala, 30, is a .210 career hitter in parts of four seasons with the Diamondbacks and White Sox.

Jerry Dipoto, president of baseball operations for the Mariners, said the club envisions Zavala as the backup to Cal Raleigh entering the season.

Moving on from Suarez will be hard to sell to a fan base full of skepticism about the direction of the club after Seattle missed the playoffs and Dipoto’s misstep with some of his postseason comments. From the outside, it appears to be a move to clear salary, erases a key leader from Seattle’s clubhouse and leaves a hole at third base.

“Adding Seby and Carlos is another step toward building the type of deep roster that is required at the major league level,” Dipoto said. “Seby is an experienced catcher with excellent defensive skills who will team with Cal behind the plate. And Carlos is a young reliever with the type of ‘big stuff’ that our staff has done a wonderful job developing over the years.”

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Sources: ASU’s top WR Tyson expected back

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Sources: ASU's top WR Tyson expected back

Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State‘s leading receiver, is expected to return from a hamstring injury and play Saturday when the Sun Devils visit the Colorado Buffaloes, sources tell ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Tyson is expected to participate in pregame warmups, and barring any setbacks, he’ll be cleared to play against his former team.

Tyson suffered the injury Oct. 18 in Arizona State’s upset win over then-undefeated Texas Tech. He finished that game with 10 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown but has not played since.

Despite missing the past three games, Tyson leads the Sun Devils in catches (57) and yards receiving (628), and he is the team leader with eight touchdowns.

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UAB: Player arrested after stabbing 2 teammates

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UAB: Player arrested after stabbing 2 teammates

A UAB football player stabbed two of his teammates Saturday morning at the football facility ahead of the Blazers’ home game against USF, a university spokesperson told ESPN.

The suspect has been arrested, and both injured players are in stable condition after being taken to UAB hospital. The school has not released the names of any of the players involved.

UAB’s game against USF began as scheduled at 3 p.m. ET.

A UAB official said an investigation is ongoing.

“UAB’s top priority remains the safety and well-being of all of our students,” the school said in a statement.

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Sources: Ohio St. to be without WRs Tate, Smith

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Sources: Ohio St. to be without WRs Tate, Smith

Ohio State wide receivers Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith are not expected to play against Rutgers on Saturday due to lower-body injuries, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Tate will miss his third straight game. Smith played in last week’s win over UCLA but missed the second half after being seen limping before halftime. Both are considered day-to-day, sources said, ahead of a potential return next week against rival Michigan.

On Tuesday, coach Ryan Day would not rule out either wide receiver but also did not want to go into specifics on their availability.

“Our policy is we don’t discuss specifics on injuries, and once you start going down a little bit here, a little bit there, you can create a problem,” Day said. “So for a number of reasons, we don’t discuss those things.”

Smith leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the nation with 10 touchdown catches while ranking third in the conference in receiving yards per game (90.2) and second in catches per game (6.9). Tate is fifth in the Big Ten with 88.9 receiving yards per game.

Brandon Inniss started in place of Tate against UCLA and led No. 1 Ohio State with six catches for 30 yards during a 48-10 win.

The 5-5 Scarlet Knights are looking to beat Ohio State for the first time in their 11th try since joining the Big Ten in 2014.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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