Phillies’ Ranger Suárez pitches two scoreless innings in sharp spring training debut vs. Yankees

CLEARWATER, Fla. — For the first three months of the 2024 season, Ranger Suárez wasn’t just in the Cy Young conversation, he was leading the pack in the National League.

He didn’t receive a single vote after his second half was hampered by a back injury. Suárez missed the All-Star Game, spent nearly a month on the injured list, and posted a 5.74 ERA in the seven regular-season games after his return.

“We all know that in order to get a Cy Young, you need to pitch really well for a whole season,” Suárez said through a team interpreter. “And I think that’s the first thing that I have to do, is remain fully healthy. … As a pitcher, we all want that achievement, but I just want to have a fully healthy year and really good season.”

» READ MORE: Max Kepler hits first homer of the spring, Zack Wheeler struggles in loss to the Yankees

Suárez had a close call in his first appearance of the spring on Tuesday. During his two scoreless innings in the 12-3 loss to the Yankees, Suárez reached down to barehand a comebacker, 80.1 mph off the bat of George Lombard Jr. The ball deflected off his finger to second baseman Bryson Stott, who made the throw to first.

Suárez was fine afterward. When the trainer came out to the mound to check on him, Trea Turner told him not to do it again, and Alec Bohm jokingly tossed his glove in Suárez’s direction.

The near miss didn’t put a damper on Suárez’s outing, in which the left-hander allowed only one single across two innings. He entered the game in relief in the fourth inning, piggybacking off Zack Wheeler, but approached the day with the same routine as a normal start.

Suárez’s velocity was down across the board. His four-seam fastball averaged 89.8 miles per hour, 2 mph slower than his season average last year. His sinker averaged 88.5 mph, down 2.3 mph from his average. The most significant gap was in the four cutters he threw, which averaged 81.4 mph for a difference of 5.1 mph from last season.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson isn’t concerned.

“I think that’s pretty normal for him, his first time out in spring training,” Thomson said.

Despite the lack of velocity, Suárez’s command was sharp as he struck out two and induced three groundouts. His focus over the offseason had been improving his changeup, and he generated three whiffs on the eight he threw Tuesday.

» READ MORE: Phillies send top position prospects Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford to minor league camp

The changeup had been one of his most effective pitches early in 2024, but it faltered amid Suárez’s late-season struggles. Hitters averaged .375 against the pitch in September.

“Every day I played catch, and it was fastball, changeup, fastball, changeup,” Suárez said. “And I got the chance to put it to use in the game today, and it went well.”

He also continues to get work done daily on the places in his back that bothered him last year to avoid a reoccurrence of the tightness. Beyond a Cy Young Award, Suárez has another key reason to prioritize his health this season, as he’s set to enter free agency at the end of 2025.

The Phillies are all he knows, and Suárez wants to stay. As a 16-year-old, he signed with the organization for $25,000, after impressing scouts at a now-closed academy in Venezuela.

“This is my childhood club, my childhood organization,” he said. “I’ve played here since I was young, and all I think about is staying here. I want to pitch here for the rest of my career. It’s about going through the season and then after the season’s over, then we’re going to see what happens.”

Before the game, the Phillies reassigned infielders Aidan Miller and Carson Taylor, catcher Caleb Ricketts, outfielder Justin Crawford, and left-handed pitcher Tristan Garnett to minor league camp.

“As far as makeup and how they go about their business, how they fit into a major league clubhouse, I mean, their maturity is way beyond their age, so they held their own very well,” Thomson said of Crawford and Miller.

Crawford, 21, went 3-for-10 with a .717 OPS and also stole two bases. Miller, ranked the Phillies’ No. 2 prospect for 2025 by MLB Pipeline, went hitless in 12 plate appearances this spring, although the 20-year-old did draw three walks. Thomson said he talked to Miller about his slump a few days ago.

“He’s got a lot of confidence, and he knows he’s going to hit,” Thomson said. “He knows he can hit. There are certain people I probably wouldn’t bring it up to. I knew that he could handle it.”