Should the Phillies Consider Trading Ranger Suárez?

There is no doubt that Ranger Suárez is a bit of a cult hero in Philadelphia. 

Fans fell in love with him as a versatile option in the 2022 playoffs as a starter, reliever and even a closer. 

He was a throwback to a bygone era where pitchers pitched. It didn't matter when, where or for how long. We were first told about his slow heartbeat. Everyone ogled over his sensational fielding ability, and were charmed by how cool he would then be in taking his time to throw out a runner at first. 

He repeated his heroics in the 2023 postseason, and then had a start for the ages to 2024, doing things no Phillies pitcher had done since Grover Cleveland Alexander more than a century before. 

Then came July, and his back started acting up. He spent time on the injured list. When he came back, he wasn't right. He was off. He was not the same guy that had meant so much to the Phillies faithful for nearly three years. 

And then he gave the Phillies one last Herculean effort in Game 4 of the NLDS. He battled. He wasn't perfect — not even close — but he showed incredible gumption in getting out of not one but two bases loaded jams in the first two innings without allowing a run to score. He gave the Phillies a chance to win. A hope to survive and bring things back to Citizens Bank Park. 

But that's where the 2024 video yearbook fades to black. You won't see the bullpen meltdown, at least not on your television. But it's always going to be there in your mind's eye. It's always going be sticking like a thorn in your craw. 

You'll never forgive the Phillies for ripping your heart out — again — when they should have been the better team. 

And now the Phillies recognize they can't do it again — at least not with the same group. Both John Middleton and Dave Dombrowski said it in separate stories published in The Athletic. Change is coming — and likely via trade. 

There has been a lot of speculation about how Dombrowski and now new GM Preston Mattingly will attack this offseason. Who might they trade from their roster to find value elsewhere? Might it be Alec Bohm? How about Brandon Marsh? Bryson Stott? Johan Rojas? 

All good options. And maybe one or two of them are no longer with the Phillies when they convene in Clearwater in a few months. 

My #Phillies thought

I think they try to move Ranger Suarez before they have to pay him and they to flip for some help in the lineup and insert Andrew Painter into the rotation. #RingTheBell

— Mike Gill (@MikeGillShow) November 8, 2024

But what about Suárez? Might he be an attractive option to dangle via trade?

Consider the following:

• The Phillies have four starting pitchers locked up for multiple years — Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez, and Andrew Painter (under team control through at least 2030, if not longer — depending on when he makes his major league debut), who should join the rotation at some point this season. 
• Sánchez, not Suárez, was the guy the Phillies decided to give a longer-term deal to in the middle of an historic start to a season for the franchise, one that was being buoyed by Suárez as a Cy Young frontrunner through June. 
• For all the good Suárez has provided in the past few years, he's always seemed to have a setback of some kind that has prevented him from maximizing his potential. Sometimes, it was something outside his control — like a visa issue that delayed his arrival to Spring Training. Or pitching in the World Baseball Classic and having a minor injury that delayed the start of his season. And sometimes it was a heavier workload taking a toll on his back.
• In the four years since the pandemic, he's averaged just 22 starts and 134 innings per season. Those are good, not great totals.  
• Suárez has one final year left of arbitration before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. He's likely to get somewhere between $8-$9 million in arbitration.
• Pitchers who were given a qualifying offer as they entered free agency this year had to be offered $21.05 million. That's sure to go up next season when Suarez hits free agency. 

It’s time to consider a Ranger Suarez trade pic.twitter.com/uR5fJrsU6B

— Zack Wheeler FC (@cywheela) November 4, 2024

Now, couple this with the fact that the Phillies have been reported to be hot and heavy after Chicago White Sox lefty starter Garrett Crochet, and suddenly, Suárez becomes a bit of a luxury. 

To be fair, with Suárez only having one-year of control before free agency, some teams may balk at the notion of trading for him if it only means they get him for one season and then he hits free agency. So, if that's the case, why trade him?

But there are teams who might be willing to work with Suárez's agent to sign a new deal to avoid free agency and make him a cog in their rotation for a handful of years. Or, maybe a team that doesn't think they'll be competitive, takes Suárez because he's so affordable for 2025 and then flip him to a contender at the trade deadline to get a prospect or two. 

The Phillies liked Crochet enough to make a serious pitch for him at the deadline. Multiple reports indicated that the reason a deal wasn't consummated is because the Phillies wouldn't part with Painter. 

But, at the GM meetings this week in San Antonio, White Sox GM Chris Getz talked openly about the possibility of trading Crochet this offseason, and expressed how his team needs position players. Those the Phillies have —both at the major league and minor league level — so maybe a package can be put together that makes sense. 

The Phillies tried for Crochet at the deadline, so not surprising they’re back in the offseason.

Outside of Soto, adding Crochet to Wheeler, Nola, Sanchez and Painter is probably the second most impactful move they could make this offseason.

Going to be interesting. They’ve…

— Jack Fritz (@JackFritzWIP) November 8, 2024

And if so, then Suárez becomes more expendable, and maybe he can be swapped for a very good bullpen arm, or a high-contact outfielder. 

If the Phillies want to take that next step and win a World Series, they're going to have to make a difficult decision or two about some very popular players.

And Suárez might be the most difficult of them all.