Ranger Suarez’s iffy back still a concern for Phillies
He has proven his value when healthy
From The Reporter/MediaNews Group: https://tinyurl.com/w6ms9ta5
PHILADELPHIA — Manager Rob Thomson quickly punched a hole in any mystery surrounding lefthander Ranger Suárez’s exit after only 80 pitches in Saturday’s 5-1 Phillies victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
“It was designed,” Thomson said. “In June he had six starts, five of them seven innings, one of them six innings, all of them 94 pitches or more. So we went in today just trying to pull back a little bit. He had an 85-pitch limit today.”
Suárez, who turns 30 in August, held the Reds hitless through the first three frames. By the time he departed after the fifth, he had scattered five hits and one earned run — a solo homer to right-center field by Will Benson, who jumped on a first-pitch fastball — while striking out six and walking two.
“The last time I went out in Atlanta (June 29), I didn’t feel well in my body, so today was a pitch limit to see how I was evolving,” Suárez said through translator Diego Ettedgui. “It’s a shoulder and my back. I felt it a little bit, but that’s why they told me that we were going to have a pitch limit today. But today I felt good overall. I felt way better.
“All my pitches were pretty good. … Great, actually. I mean, my changeup was great. The cutter and the curveball were too. I mean, overall, I think all of my pitches were done fantastically.”
The Phillies don’t want to take any chances with Suárez (7-2, 1.99 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 73 K, 19 BB, 77 IP). He started the season on the IL for five weeks because of his back, and he has an intermittent history of back issues and other ailments.
But when he’s healthy, he’s as steady as they come, and he seems to relish big moments. In each of his last 10 starts heading into Saturday, he had pitched at least six innings while posting a 1.19 ERA during that span. But a year ago, after hot first half, a back injury crept up on him after the All-Star break.
“That’s why we had the pitch limit today, right?” Suárez said. “Last season, during the second half, I got hurt. So the pitch limit was just because of that, to see how we can progress, to keep feeling better and just going forward like that.
“I think that the main thing for us right now is just to focus on finishing the season as healthy as possible.”
Suárez’s contract, which is paying him $8.8 million for 2025, is up at the end of the year. The Phillies will have a serious decision to make about resigning him, along with catcher J.T. Realmuto and slugger Kyle Schwarber, who will both be free agents as well, and southpaw Jesús Luzardo, who’s on a one-year deal. (The Phillies can retain control of Luzardo through 2026 with arbitration.)
If Suárez stays healthy and continues pitching anywhere close to his current level, he’ll be a hot commodity with a high price tag.
On the surface, the Phillies seem to have a plethora of good starting pitching. Righthander Zack Wheeler (8-3, 2.27 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 136 K) is again looking like a Cy Young candidate, and 28-year-old lefty Cristopher Sanchez (7-2, 2.68 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 108 K) continues to realize his potential.
Also, hot prospect Andrew Painter, who has been impressive in Triple-A while recovering from Tommy John surgery, is expected to join the club later this month (though there’s no official timetable).
But Luzardo, who began the season on fire, has been up and down lately. And 32-year-old Aaron Nola, to whom the Phillies just gave a seven-year, $172 million contract, is out multiple months with a cracked rib.
Not to mention, the Phils just sent highly touted youngster Mick Abel, 23, back to the minors after a couple of rocky outings. Add in the fact that Wheeler is 35 and comes off the books after 2027, and that Sanchez’s contract also is due to expire after ’27, and suddenly the Phillies’ starting staff doesn’t seem so loaded after all.
A team can never have too much starting pitching. Just ask the Dodgers, who overloaded their roster with it, and then half their staff got hurt and they didn’t have enough arms.
By exercising such caution with Suárez, the Phillies are displaying how valuable he is, and how much they may need to keep him.
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.