Should the Phillies be worried about Ranger Suárez’s back?
The left-hander hopes to be ready for the start of the season. The team has a backup plan if he isn't.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — The last time Ranger Suárez suffered a back injury, it sidelined him for nearly a month in 2024.
While he felt stiffness in the same part of his back on Sunday night, a day after pitching four innings in an intrasquad game, the Phillies left-hander doesn’t think it’s as severe this time.
“It’s different than last year, very different from last year,” he said Friday morning through a team interpreter. “I mean, it’s just mild discomfort compared to last year. Last year was a bigger deal. … I feel better already.”
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Does he think he will be ready for his first start of the season?
“I hope so,” Suárez said.
Suárez was initially scheduled to play catch on Friday, but that was pushed back to Saturday to give him an additional day of rest. He said he hasn’t undergone an MRI and doesn’t think he will need one.
Including the intrasquad game, Suárez has made only three appearances this spring. In five innings of Grapefruit League action, he posted a 1.80 ERA but saw diminished velocity. Neither Suárez nor Phillies manager Rob Thomson expressed any concern about that, with Thomson calling the lefty “a little bit of a slow starter.”
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In 2024, Suárez made every single spring start, and continued that into a strong first three months of the regular season before being derailed by the back soreness in July.
The Phillies have some flexibility. If Suárez is slotted in at the end of the rotation, two off days in the first two weeks of the season mean the Phillies have time before they will need a fifth starter. After Zack Wheeler starts on opening day, Jesús Luzardo and Aaron Nola will pitch the next two games against the Nationals in Washington.
Cristopher Sánchez is tabbed for the home opener against the Rockies. Following the off day on April 1, Wheeler will start again. The fifth spot in the rotation will not come up until the series finale against Colorado on April 3.
Taijuan Walker, who is scheduled to make his final start of the spring on Monday, is an option for the rotation if Suárez opens the season on the injured list.
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“I think it’s better that it happened now,” Suárez said. “I don’t think that we’re going to take it that slow. I mean, we’re one week away from the season starting. At the same time, I want to take care of it as quickly as possible, so I can be back out there again.”