Ranger Suarez has been dealing with a bad back over the last week, and it seems like the Phillies will give the left-hander some extra time to recover by placing him on the 15-day injured list to begin the season. Manager Rob Thomson more or less confirmed the move today, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki noted that Thomson told reporters post-game that the Phillies “expect Ranger to go on the IL,” but stated in an interview during the game that Suarez would definitively be placed on the 15-day.
The move seems largely precautionary, as Thomson said “We don’t want this thing to linger. So if we do officially IL him, we don’t think it’s going to be long.” Zolecki notes that Suarez might just miss a single start if he spends only the 15-day minimum on the sidelines, due to the three-day backdating available for IL placements and the fact that the Phillies have three off-days within the first 12 days of the regular season.
Back problems hampered Suarez last year, effectively bifurcating what initially seemed like a breakout season for the left-hander. Suarez had a sparkling 1.83 ERA over his first 98 1/3 innings of the 2024 campaign, and then a 6.54 ERA in his final 52 1/3 innings once his back started causing problems. Suarez skipped the All-Star Game to spend the break resting his back, but Philadelphia ended up placing him on the 15-day IL anyway, which kept Suarez out of action for a month.
This early-season IL trip might well help Suarez get in front of any injury problems early, as trying to pitch through his bad back might’ve only worsened the issue last year. The Phillies aren’t really losing much by resting him early, plus Taijuan Walker is on hand to step into the rotation.
Walker has looked good for much of Spring Training, though his last start saw the Yankees tee off for six earned runs over 3 2/3 innings of work from the right-hander. As always, spring results aren’t necessarily as important as process, and Zolecki writes that Walker’s four-seamer has added over three miles miles per hours of added velocity, plus Walker’s splitter has also looked better. In a sense, there’s nowhere to go but up for Walker after a dismal 2024 season that saw him post a 7.10 ERA in 83 2/3 innings.
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