Less than a week before MLB’s winter meetings, the hot stove has been relatively quiet for the Philadelphia Phillies. Rumors that have come out regarding the organization have been few and far between. However, they all have one thing in common.
They’ve all connected the Phillies to starting pitching. While they already have one of the best rotations on paper, their front office seems to have another plan. What have the rumors been and what does it mean for the Phillies?
The Rumors
The earliest rumor was one that first appeared at the trade deadline in the summer. USA Today writer Bob Nightengale mentioned that the Phillies were interested in the White Sox’s young starter, Garrett Crochet.
While that rumor was just interest, the latest Phillies rumor pertains to actual trade talks. Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reported that the Phillies asked for either Logan Gilbert or George Kirby in a potential Alec Bohm trade. Both young starters are former All-Stars.
What does it mean for the Phillies?
If you look at the Phillies rotation, you will see 3 All-Stars that have been locked up for at least the next few seasons. On top of that, top prospect Andrew Painter is expected to join the Phillies rotation sometime next season. That leaves Ranger Suárez in his last year of arbitration and beleaguered starter Taijuan Walker.
Their pursuit of another top-end starter could signal that the Phillies do not believe that they’ll re-sign Ranger. Since 2021, Ranger Suárez has a 3.29 ERA with an 8.4 K/9. Last season, an amazing first half of the season gave Ranger the distinction of being an All-Star. Back injuries kept him out of the mid-summer classic and seemed to hurt his effectiveness in the 2nd half.
Ranger has also never thrown more than 155.1 IP in a season, 170 IP if you include the 2022 postseason. For comparison, Cristopher Sánchez, in his first full season starting, threw 181.2 IP and an additional 5 IP in his NLDS start.
Ranger always seems to come down with a random mid-season injury every season. The health risk could deter the Phillies from offering the type of extension that Ranger is seeking.
That moves us to the 2nd reason the Phillies could be searching for a starter on the trade market. Already this offseason, starting pitchers have been getting above-market deals. With a 4.84 ERA in 2024, Frankie Montas was able to secure a 2-year $34 million deal with the Mets. The Cubs gave $29 million over 2 years to Matthew Boyd who’s only thrown 202.2 IP in the last 4 seasons due to injury. On Thursday, Luis Severino got a franchise record-breaking $67 million deal from the Athletics.
With his postseason pitching prowess, Ranger Suárez should be looking for an extension more in the 9-digit realm.
Instead of spending on a ballooning free-agent starting market, the Phillies seem to be looking ahead, trying to acquire promising starters with multiple years of control. If they are successful in adding another quality arm, the Phillies could assemble a rotation that could compete with the likes of the 2011 squad.
Whatever the Phillies’ offseason plans are, they should become clearer as the rumor mill turns during the winter meetings.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
