The Philadelphia Phillies have landed in an interesting predicament with free-agent pitcher Ranger Suárez.
For most teams, a 30-year-old lefty with an All-Star appearance, a track record of playoff excellence, and low-three ERAs in each of the last two seasons would be a priority to keep around. But the Phillies arguably have two more important free agents to take care of this year in Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto.
It’s not that the Phillies wouldn’t want Suárez back, all things being equal, but they might not be able to add all three new contracts to their budget. One also has to wonder if the trade to bring in fellow lefty Jesús Luzardo last winter was part of the Phillies’ contingency plan for losing Suárez at this time.
Someone will be getting a certified big-game pitcher if Suárez leaves, though, and one baseball writer believes it will be a fellow National League playoff team.
On Friday, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report predicted that the Chicago Cubs, whose rotation is heavily left-handed already but needs a boost regardless, would ink Suárez to a fresh contract at some point this winter.
“Ranger Suárez has been a groundball pitcher throughout his career, with a strong 52.0 percent groundball rate for his career, and that means a team with a strong defensive infield might be his ideal landing spot,” Reuter wrote.
“It doesn’t get much better than the middle infield tandem of Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson for the Cubs, and rookie Matt Shaw was also a Gold Glove finalist at third base, making the North Side an ideal place for Suárez to land on a long-term deal.”
With Suárez in tow, Chicago would have four lefties in the rotation next year if and when Justin Steele returns from Tommy John surgery, including those two, Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga.
Will any team step up early in the winter with a big contract for Suárez? The Athletic’s Tim Britton projected him for a six-year, $153 million contract last month, which is justifiable in context, but is also a major expenditure for a soft-tosser who’s never qualified for the ERA title.
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