After throwing 60 pitches during an intrasquad game on Saturday down in Florida, Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suárez was lined up to start this coming Friday in what would likely be his final appearance of the spring. Just a day later, however, Suárez reported some back stiffness that could put the start of his season in jeopardy.
Ranger Suárez dealing with back tightness
The Phillies sent the left-hander for imaging on Monday, and it revealed no structural issues – but back issues forced Suárez to miss a month in 2024. He even had to back out of the All-Star game as a result, his first time getting the nod to appear in the summer classic.
According to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, Manager Rob Thomson indicated today (Wednesday, March 19) that the club should know more in the next 24-48 hours. As a result, Suárez will not pitch Friday as scheduled. He was penciled in to start the fifth game of the season, April 3 against the Colorado Rockies, so the Phillies have time before making a decision that might impact the 26-man roster on Opening Day.
While Ranger’s stuff had looked less-than-stellar in spring, the team wasn’t worried – he’s known to be a slower starter and a slight down-tick in velocity didn’t set off any alarms. Suárez hasn’t complained until this weekend, so there was nothing of concern from their point of view. Now, they have an important decision to make – who steps into the rotation if Ranger needs some time to rest and ramp back up.
An opportunity for Taijuan Walker
Taijuan Walker seemed like a shoe-in to break camp on the roster before you remind yourself of his contract. His velocity had increased from last season, his Splitter seemingly returned to it’s former glory, and he limited damage to the tune of a 3.86 ERA. Walker was solid – until Wednesday. Yankee hitters thumped the ball against Walker, putting up six runs in 3.2 innings, blasting three home runs in the process. Nine batted balls were rocketed with 100-plus MPH exit velocity – it wasn’t pretty.
Walker may now be forced into the rotation, and the Phillies will hope they see what he did in his first 9.1 innings, and not the last 3.2. He will have one more opportunity to redeem himself on Monday, the final game of Spring Training. They could also opt to leave him in the bullpen as they originally envisioned and opt to wait for Ranger, or keep someone like Kyle Tyler or Tyler Phillips in for a spot start or two, playing it safe with Suárez and allowing him to start the season on the injured list for some extra recovery time.
“I don’t know,” Thomson told reporters Wednesday. “We’ll know more in the next couple of days.”
This is a crucial season for Ranger. The 29-year-old lefty is entering the final season of his contract and would be a free agent at season’s end. Suárez was an All-Star in 2024 after going 10-4 with a 2.76 ERA and 112 strikeouts to just 26 walks in the first half. He struggled in the second half (5.65 ERA after the All-Star break) while dealing with a different back injury, and finished the year at 12-8 with a 3.46 ERA in 27 starts.
Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
