PHILADELPHIA — Ranger Suarez had a team translator next to him in the Phillies clubhouse Thursday. That didn’t mean he misunderstood the question when it came, one which he might have hoped hadn’t been asked.
Suarez, whose achy but not breaky back has set him back since spring training, has finally been cleared to rejoin the club on an active basis, and is slated to start Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park.
With his season debut, Suarez becomes the Phillies’ sixth starter – by number, not status.
“We’ll probably shorten it a little bit,” manager Rob Thomson said of Suarez’s first start after four minor league rehabilitation outings. “He did 80 pitches last time out, we can probably up that a little bit. But he won’t be full.”
Suarez wasn’t fooled Thursday, knowing the starting pitching rotation game he’s about to enter.
If he’s No. 6 right now, then the anticipated (and also injury delayed) debut of long-awaited top prospect Andrew Painter will further complicate matters. That’s not supposed to happen until sometime close to the All-Star break, but don’t be surprised if Painter – who was scheduled to make his fourth minor rehab Thursday night in Clearwater – doesn’t suddenly appear at Citizens Bank Park shortly after May turns into June.
Then where will everybody go? Could one answer be that Suarez returns to his MLB roots? He began his tenure here in the bullpen. So when the question was put to the translator, Suarez already had a half-pained smile creeping across his face. Then came a sigh before his answer.
“Obviously it’s got to depend on the context,” he said. “That’s a tough one. But obviously I want to be in the rotation all the time. I want to be a starter all the time. But if it’s for the team’s sake, if it’s to win something, if it’s to get to the World Series, then I’m willing to do anything.”
For starters on this issue of too many starters, Thomson has been going along with the thought of the club going with a six-man rotation. At least until Painter joins the crew.
Then again, maybe that isn’t much of an answer.
A six-man rotation usually isn’t favored by clockwork athletes such as Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. It would still collide with the roster limit of 26, so it would entail one less bullpen body. It also would somewhat cut down on the appearances for Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez and exciting newcomer Jesus Luzardo.
“That’s part of it, but the other part is you have one less arm in the bullpen and you don’t really have a whole lot of optionable guys that you could run through the bullpen,” Thomson said. “So that can come into play, too. But we haven’t gotten that far yet; we haven’t made the final decision on that.”
The easiest answer would seem to be centered around Thursday night’s starter against the Washington Nationals, that being Taijuan Walker.
With a surprisingly effective spring, Walker kept his position on the team despite a forgettable 2024 season. Ticketed as a long reliever, and that would be only if he wasn’t ticketed for another town, Walker found himself as the fifth starter upon Suarez’s absence, and has somewhat thrived. He entered this series finale with the Nats at 1-2 with a 2.78 ERA.
He seems to like where he is – dashing off the mound against the Nationals’ CJ Abrams Thursday night to make a tremendous scoop-and-flip play with his glove for the first out of the game. Whether he’s starting or relieving by June, Walker, who has this season and next at $18 million each remaining on his contract, is apparently here to stay.
“Oh, he’s on the club, absolutely,” Thomson said, “He’s pitched very well.”
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The Phillies Thursday acquired right-handed pitcher Daniel Robert from Texas for minor leaguer Enrique Segura. In making the move, the Phillies also traded 10 years.
Robert is 30 and a career minor leaguer. He did get promoted for the first time last season, and allowed two runs over 5.2 innings in four appearances for Texas. He had been off to a good start this season at Triple-A Round Rock, with a 1.54 ERA through 11.2 innings with 17 strikeouts.
“We got what looks like a pretty good arm,” Thomson said. “The guy’s got a good fastball, he throws strikes, he gets strikeouts … good slider. We got some more depth.”
Considering how the bullpen has fared – the Phils’ 5.03 ERA ranked 27th of 30 MLB clubs, and they successfully completed just eight out of 16 save opportunities – relief depth might be exactly what they need.
The Phillies will start Robert at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
As for Segura, he’s only 20, but in his fourth season of pro ball. He had a 3.18 ERA in three starts and one relief appearance for the Threshers this season.
• • •
It’s not like the first 100 days of a certain presidency, but Thomson knows the first 30 game days for the Phillies this season could have been better.
“Consistency is the biggest thing,” the manager said before Thursday’s game. “I feel pretty fortunate to be 17-13 with the way we’ve played. But the last four or five days have been much better, so hopefully that continues.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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