For the past little while, many of the Philadelphia Phillies faithful have been wondering who would be the two callups once rosters expanded to 28 players when September rolled around. The suspense has finally been lifted as the Phillies unveiled who those two players were.
On Friday, the team announced that both starter Ranger Suárez and outfielder Cristian Pache were reinstated from the IL and will make up the 27th and 28th man on the roster for the final month of the season.
The Phillies reinstated LHP Ranger Suárez from the 15-day IL (right hamstring strain) and recalled OF Cristian Pache from his rehab assignment with Lehigh Valley (AAA) and reinstated him from the 10-day IL (right elbow irritation), expanding the roster to 28 players.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 1, 2023
Suárez had been out since August 18th due to a right hamstring strain. Although not reflected in his record, he has actually been having a decent season so far with the Phillies, becoming a consistent cog in their back end of the starting rotation. For the season, Suárez has posted a 2-6 record with a 3.88 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, giving up 42 earned runs, 35 walks and 89 strikeouts in 97.1 innings pitched. He looks to return to the Phillies’ starting rotation on Sunday as he is scheduled to make his first start since coming off the IL against the Milwaukee Brewers.
It has certainly been an unfortunate year so far for Pache, as he has spent a fair chunk of his 2023 season on the injured list. Back in late April, Pache tore his meniscus in his knee, while later this summer, he was sidelined once again because of right elbow irritation due to a loose screw from a previous surgical procedure. Nevertheless, he did have some success with the Phillies during his brief healthy stints with the big league club as the team’s extra outfielder. In 32 games, Pache had hit a stellar .327 with an impressive .957 OPS, along with eight runs scored, seven doubles, two home runs and eight RBI in just 49 total at-bats. With his activation off the IL, he will most likely serve once again as the team’s backup outfielder in the stretch run, as well as providing some speed and defence off the bench late in games.
With these two valuable reinforcements, the Phillies appear to be set for the playoff run, as they currently have a firm hold of the first Wild Card spot in the NL playoff race. Look for both Suárez and Pache to be potential key contributors down the stretch now that they are back to full health to help the ballclub in pursuit of their second consecutive postseason berth.