It wasn’t exactly the “BREAKING” Jeff Passan tweet I pined for in my last post, but one notification by the ESPN MLB insider on a Sunday evening in February changed my whole outlook on the Reds’ 2025-26 offseason.

Geno. Is. Back.

Eugenio Suárez — who was once a team favorite of mine due to his infectious smile, Good-Vibes-Only attitude, funny banter with TV reporter Jim Day and, yes, his prodigious power — is now a Reds favorite of mine once again. When Passan tweeted out that Suárez was returning to Cincinnati on a one-year, $15 million contract, my giddiness was immediate. I had to FaceTime my brother instantly, knowing how much we both love Geno. I had to read as much as I could about the signing and the reaction on social media. 

I did not expect this. While the Reds front office did a good job rebuilding the team’s bullpen and bringing in a couple of outfielders with upside this past offseason, I was upset that they hadn’t gotten anything done to meaningfully improve the offense — a clear and obvious need. All reporting indicated the team only had a few million dollar left to spend to match last season’s player budget. 

I was bracing for a low-cost bat. I was prepared to be bummed out.

So, after my initial happiness upon reading the surprising Suárez news, I had questions: Where did this $15 million come from? Are we going to have to trade a couple of guys to get back to budget?

I was even more surprised to discover later that the Reds’ ownership group approved the team extending their budget beyond what was planned to bring in Geno. (Fangraphs’ RosterResource estimates the Reds’ 2026 payroll at $126 million, about $15 million higher than it was at the start of last season.)

Learning this marked the first time in a while that I felt genuine appreciation for ownership.

To be clear, I still think they’re cheap. They can talk all they want about how Cincinnati is in a small market and they budget for the team to break even. I’m probably being naive, but I think they could spend closer to $150 million, invest even more in the roster and still be fine financially.

These feelings aside, I’m happy they saw an opportunity to add an impact bat (and person) to a team that feels to be on the cusp taking the next step, and didn’t let the budget get in the way. It sounds like they would’ve done the same if slugger Kyle Schwarber decided to come home back in December. I guess it just has to be the right fit for the team’s owners to go the extra monetary mile.

This post is, of course, very late to the Suárez news. Passan’s tweet got sent out on Feb. 1. Spring training is well underway. But I’m still feeling that happiness and appreciation, and I’m as positive about the Reds going into a season as I’ve been in years. 

The team’s first Spring Training game was this past Saturday. It’s nothing like Opening Day, but it’s still something to be excited about for a diehard baseball fan. As if that wasn’t enough, my brother dropped off a surprise just-because gift: a signed Suárez jersey from his first Reds tenure, which he says he bought on the day of the Geno signing news. I proudly wore it while I watched the team lose to the Guardians in Arizona.

My brother’s gift was yet another recent Reds-related thing for which to be grateful. I’m a Cincinnati fan, and thus not used to this kind of feeling.

I hope once the season starts, the team gives us more reasons to be thankful on the long march to October.