Phillies are paying the price for letting Ranger Suárez leave
Dave Dombrowski got this one wrong
Delaware County Daily Times: https://tinyurl.com/32ypykkr
Originally published July 2, 2026
PHILADELPHIA — The most overlooked story of the Phillies’ offseason was that they made zero effort to re-sign left-hander Ranger Suárez, one of the best big-game pitchers in baseball.
They could sure use him now.
Phillies president Dave Dombrowski let him walk like it was a foregone conclusion. This year with the dreadful Boston Red Sox, the 30-year-old Suárez is 4-3 with a 2.94 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 92 strikeouts and 26 walks.
Two weeks ago against the Seattle Mariners, he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning.
“We’d like to bring Ranger back,” Phillies president Dave Dombrowski said last fall. “He’s one of our priorities. But we probably can’t keep all of our key free agents.”
Suárez’s health issues were well-documented — he missed some time each year and often broke down a bit in the second half. But its not as if he was Joel Embiid. You could usually count on him, and he was absolutely at his best when it mattered most.
In 11 career postseason appearances (42 2/3 innings, including eight starts), Suárez is 4-1 with a 1.48 ERA, 44 strikeouts, a 1.05 WHIP and a save.
His résumé includes starring roles in multiple elimination and series-clinching victories, including helping the Phillies secure the 2022 National League pennant, when he beat the Braves in a decisive Game 4 of the 2023 NLDS, and earning a win with five strong innings of relief against the Dodgers in last year’s NLDS.
Yet the Phillies’ response last offseason was: “Meh, buh-bye. We’ll replace you with 23-year-old Andrew Painter.”
Never mind that Painter was still recovering from Tommy John surgery, had serious command issues, and posted a less-than-stellar 5.25 ERA at Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2025.
Now, after sending Painter back down with a 1-8 record and 7.06 ERA, the Phillies are actually thin on starting pitching — despite having a trio of frontline arms. Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler and, for the most part, Jesús Luzardo are all bankable stars. But Aaron Nola (3-5, 6.04 ERA) has become a crapshoot at best and still gives up the long ball way to much.
If one of the top three starters goes down with an injury, the Phillies are in trouble. They’re already piecemealing their fifth starter spot, once occupied by Painter.
Thursday’s 6-1 loss to the Pirates wasn’t Alan Rangel’s fault. He threw four scoreless frames to start the game, even though he piled up 90 pitches in that span, and maybe he even has a future as a starter.
“He was good,” manager Don Mattingly said. “He was kinda doing what he’s been doing for us the whole time, keeping us in the game. … You could tell he was kinda running out of gas at the end with the walks and things like that. But he did a nice job for us.”
OK. But right now — with a veteran roster and looming lockout in 2027 — the Phillies need to add a proven arm to their rotation (not to mention bullpen help and perhaps another right-handed-hitting outfielder).
“Schwarber, Realmuto, Suárez and Bader are our priorities, but it’s unlikely we’ll re-sign everybody,” Dombrowski said in the offseason. “(Owner) John (Middleton) is very supportive ... but you don’t have unlimited (money). I don’t think we’re going to have a $400 million payroll.”
The Phillies have been worried about their payroll and luxury tax. What happened to spending “stupid money”?
They re-signed DH Kyle Schwarber and catcher J.T. Realmuto. But why are Suárez and outfielder Harrison Bader no longer on the team?
Bader, 32 — a sparkplug player and punchy right-handed bat — wanted to stay here. In his brief time with the Phillies last year, he slashed .305/.361/.463 with five home runs, 16 RBIs and 30 runs scored in 194 plate appearances while playing a dynamic center field.
But he signed a two-year, $20.5 million contract with the San Francisco Giants in January. The Phillies could have afforded that!
Ranger inked a lucrative five-year, $130 million deal with Boston. That sounds like a lot until you break it down relatively.
His salary steadily increases over time, ultimately reaching $35 million 2030 and 2031. But this year Suárez is making $7.6 million and next year $15.6 million. Wheeler, 36, who makes $42 million/year, comes off the Phillies’ books after next season.
When Suárez’s current contract is up, he’ll be younger than Wheeler is now.
These decisions aren’t 20/20 hindsight; they were questionable in real time when Dombrowski let Suárez and Bader walk away without so much as a wave goodbye last offseason.
Dombrowski is a future Hall of Fame executive, as he should be. His accomplishments are renowned.
Before Middleton persuaded him to come here in 2021, Dombrowski was working to bring a major league franchise to Nashville (which is on the horizon). He had been with Montreal, Florida, Detroit and Boston, and he had won at every stop.
His clubs, including the Phillies, have reached five World Series and won two of them — the Marlins and the Red Sox captured it all in 1997 and 2018, respectively — and he’s been a turnaround artist for struggling teams. Plus, he’s widely considered a good guy personally around baseball, for whatever it’s worth.
But how are his recent offseason decisions looking now?
Email Christiaan DeFranco at cdefranco@medianewsgroup.com. Follow him on X and Threads at @the_defranc.