A wrench was seemingly thrown into the Arizona Diamondbacks' trade deadline plans for a brief moment during the club's 5–1 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Monday night. All-Star Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez, regarded as the top bat available ahead of the July 31 trade deadline, was hit by a pitch on his right hand and forced to exit the game in the ninth inning.
Fortunately Suarez avoided the worst possible outcome, as the X-rays on his hand came back negative. But Suarez was not in Tuesday's lineup for the second game of the series against the Tigers.
It's the second injury scare Suarez has endured this month, as he was also hit by a pitch—this time on his left hand—during the MLB All-Star Game, with X-rays also returning negative on that occurrence.
Suarez, 34, ranks second in the National League with 36 home runs and leads MLB in RBI with 87. Between June and July, Suarez, the No. 3 player on Sports Illustrated's Big Board of trade candidates, has belted 21 home runs and vaulted himself to the top of the shopping list of every contending team in need of a power bat at the trade deadline.
Such teams include the Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs and the Detroit, to name a few. It remains to be seen whether Suarez's injury scare will affect his market.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Diamondbacks Make Eugenio Suarez Lineup Decision After Injury Scare, Trade Rumors.