Ranger Suárez
If this was still near the beginning of the 2024 season, under no circumstances would the Phillies and their faithful consider Ranger Suárez to be involved at all in any trade talks. After all, he put together one of the best starts in MLB history, ultimately becoming one of four pitchers to go 9-0 or better with an ERA below 1.50 in their first 10 starts of the regular season. It earned him his first-ever All-Star nod to the Midsummer Classic.
Suárez has been a consistent and reliable pitcher for the Phillies since making his debut in 2018. He has posted a stellar 41-29 record, 3.42 ERA and 1.28 WHIP with 554 strikeouts in 604 2/3 innings pitched in 161 career games. Not only that, Suárez has been a beast for the Phillies during the postseason, compiling a 3-1 record with a tidy 1.43 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with 40 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings of work over 10 playoff appearances. There's no doubt that those numbers were screaming long-term contract for him and the Phillies.
However, some struggles that arose for the 29-year-old pitcher prior to the All-Star break, along with an ill-timed lower back injury that followed, may have changed some plans for the Phillies. Since the end of June, Suárez went 2-6 with a gaudy 6.54 ERA and 1.74 WHIP, giving up 38 earned runs on 69 hits in 52 1/3 innings in his final 11 starts, as he averaged less than five innings per start during that stretch.
With his injury woes and struggles, the Phillies had even made a strong attempt to acquire pitching stud Garrett Crochet at the trade deadline with worries that Suárez wouldn’t be able to revert back to his dominant form for the rest of the season. Now with Crochet being available once again this offseason with the Phillies still heavily-coveting the potential 25-year-old ace, Suárez’s time with the Phillies could be in jeopardy.
With the Phillies having extended teammate Cristopher Sánchez already to a long-term contract but not Suárez, along with Matt Gelb of The Athletic indicating that Philadelphia could move Suárez this offseason (subscription required) as he is not guaranteed to factor in their long-term plans, the left-hander could become a major casualty from the Phillies roster at this year’s Winter Meetings.