Reds slugger Eugenio Suárez, outfielder TJ Friedl available on waivers: Sources

When the Cincinnati Reds signed free agent Eugenio Suárez to a one-year, $15 million contract in early February, they viewed him as a slugger who could help them to a second straight postseason appearance.

Instead, in the latest indication of a season that has gone awry, the Reds have placed Suárez and outfielder TJ Friel on outright waivers, according to people briefed on the process.

MLB’s other 29 clubs can claim either player during a 48-hour period before the waivers expire. The likelihood is both will clear and remain with the club, unless the Reds move to cut ties by designating one or both for assignment.

The moves, at least in part, are an attempt by the Reds to save money. Suárez, 35, is owed slightly less than $3 million for the rest of the season; Friedl, 31, slightly more than $700,000. Neither generated significant interest at the trade deadline. Neither is expected back next season.

Suárez hit a grand slam Wednesday in the Reds’ remarkable seven-run, ninth-inning rally in a 10-9 victory over the San Francisco Giants. But he spent nearly a month on the injured list with a left oblique strain early in the season, and for the year is batting only .208 with 19 homers and a .705 OPS while serving mostly as a DH.

Friedl, batting .158 with three homers and a .476 OPS, lost time in center field to Dane Myers and spent most of June in the minors. He is earning $3.8 million in his first year of arbitration, and the Reds are unlikely to offer him a contract this offseason.

The Reds began the season expecting to contend, and on May 1 were tied for the National League Central lead with the Chicago Cubs. Since then, they have gone 43-59, falling into last place in the division.