Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suárez might find himself on the wrong end of a payroll equation this winter.
On paper, Suárez is exactly the kind of player a team would love to sign long-term: 30 years old, an All-Star appearance to his name, and a track record of excellence in the postseason. But the Phillies’ rotation would still be stacked without him, especially if Zack Wheeler returned from thoracic outlet syndrome early in the season.
Plus, the Phillies have two other free agents, designated hitter Kyle Schwarber and catcher J.T. Realmuto, who are arguably much more difficult to lose based on the voids they would leave behind.
The situation could easily be setting up for the Phillies to let Suárez walk, but even if they don’t want to keep him on their payroll, they’d surely hate to see him pitching against them for a division rival next year.
On Thursday, however, Just Baseball’s Ryan Finkelstein predicted that the Atlanta Braves would sign Suárez to be the final piece of their rotation, which saw a catastrophic amount of injuries this past season and kept Atlanta from threatening the Phillies for a National League East title.
“For this Braves team, Suarez would be a breath of fresh air, giving them a second lefty they can lean on in their rotation,” Finkelstein wrote. “If everything clicks, Ranger is starting Game 3 or even Game 4 of a playoff series for the Braves next October. As the Phillies have taught us, that’s a good place to be.”
Suárez’s 1.48 ERA in 42 2/3 career playoff innings is one of the things that leaps off the page when one peruses his stat page, but he’s also been more consistent in the regular season than some give him credit for, because although he’s never qualified for the ERA title by throwing 162 or more innings, he’s topped 150 in three of the last four years.
If the Braves are willing to pay a premium for that sort of production, he could turn into an enemy quickly in Philadelphia. However, even if Atlanta’s rotation needs more help than Philadelphia’s right now, the Braves have also historically been more reluctant to spend money on veteran pitchers.
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