A 13-year chapter has come to an end.
Ranger Suárez’s time as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies organization is over after signing a five-year, $130 million deal with the Boston Red Sox.
This news isn’t a total surprise as the task at hand to resign Suárez, Kyle Schwarber, and J.T. Realmuto on top of the reports of landing Bo Bichette was impossible for the Phillies to achieve. Suárez was always going to be the odd man out in returning to Philadelphia and now begins a new period in his career pitching for the Red Sox. His departure provides top Phillies prospect Andrew Painter an opportunity to make Philadelphia’s rotation.
Signed as a 16-year-old international free agent out of Venezuela, Suárez has been a valuable asset to the Phillies since day one. Although back injuries have snakebitten Suárez over his career, he’s proven he is worth every penny of his latest deal when stepping on the mound. And that’s a lot of pennies in his new $26 million AAV contract. Suárez prevented the opposition from scoring three or more runs on 16 different occasions last year and tossed 17 quality starts while maintaining a 3.20 ERA.
Suárez’s postseason resume alone speaks to the caliber of a pitcher he is when healthy and performing under the bright lights. A cool, calm, and collected Suárez has 1.48 ERA in 42.2 innings during the playoffs. He most notably recorded the final two outs of Game 5 of the 2022 National League Championship Series to send the Phillies to the World Series. Suárez holds a 4-1 record in October, and his last outing came in the 2025 National League Division Series against the Dodgers where he tossed five innings letting just two batters reach base.
Suárez finished with a 53-37 record, 3.38 ERA, and 8.3 SO/9 as a Phillie. He was an All-Star in 2024 and one day will win a Gold Glove.
His presence in Boston will further strengthen a frightening Red Sox’s rotation which finished fourth in ERA (3.70), second in quality starts (72), and allowed 164 home runs which were fourth fewest in baseball last year. Suárez joins Cy Young runner-up Garrett Crochet, newcomers Sonny Gray, Patrick Sandoval, and Johan Oviedo, alongside returnees Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford in Boston’s elite starting staff.
Suárez had heavy interest from the New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles over the offseason. Not only did he bypass signing with the Phillies’ rival, but Suárez also essentially narrowed the path for Bichette to sign with Philadelphia considering Boston was in on the highly regarded free agent shortstop too and decided to spend their money on Suárez instead after losing Alex Bregman to the Chicago Cubs.
The Phillies also received a 2026 fourth-round pick since Suárez declined a $22.025 million qualifying offer from Philadelphia then inked a deal with another organization.
It’s going to be odd seeing Suárez pitch as a Red Sox especially when Philadelphia travels to Boston for a three-game series on May 12-14.
