Ranger Suárez reveals he declined opportunity to pitch in All-Star Game: ‘I’d rather have some rest’
Suárez said Friday that he had been contacted by the league earlier this week during the Phillies’ trip to San Francisco.
SAN DIEGO — As more and more National League pitchers dropped out of the participating in the All-Star Game this week — Zack Wheeler included — the absence of Phillies starters Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez from the roster became more and more glaring.
Sánchez is scheduled to start on Sunday and would be unable to pitch in the actual game, which is likely the reason why the league opted against including him and his 2.59 ERA as an All-Star replacement. But Suárez, who allowed one earned run in Friday’s 4-2 loss to the Padres, had no such limitations. And still, he remained off the list.
“In my mind, they’re All-Stars,” manager Rob Thomson said of the two lefties.
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The only knock against Suárez, who has an even better 1.94 ERA, is the fact that he missed the first six weeks of the season with a back injury and has only thrown 83⅔ innings. But on Friday, MLB announced the inclusion of Milwaukee Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski on the National League roster. Misiorowski has only pitched five games and 25⅔ total innings, which is the fewest number of games ever for an All-Star.
But Suárez said Friday that he had been contacted by the league earlier this week during the Phillies’ trip to San Francisco. He was offered the opportunity to be an All-Star, but he declined.
“It’s what you want, you want to go to the All-Star Game, but I’d rather have some rest right now,” Suárez said through a team interpreter. “I think that’s what’s best for us, for the team, and it’s a long second half that we’re going to have. So I want to remain as healthy and as fresh as I can. So that’s the main reason why we decided against it.”