The Venezuelan left-hander is entering his final year under contract with the Phillies and while there are many questions about where he will be in 2026, there are plenty of questions as to what role Ranger will play in 2025.
The most likely landing spot for Ranger is the spot he has spent the majority of his career so far; the starting rotation. However, that might not be set in stone. Ranger has had some legitimate durability concerns that have reared their head in each season, spending time on the IL nearly every year and never throwing more than 155.1 innings in a season. Ranger has also struggled when coming off IL, taking sometimes more than a month to settle back in. On a team where three guys threw 181 or more innings last year, that stands out even more. Ranger had a remarkable start to 2024, one where he was an All Star and probably should have started in it, but the second half was injury-riddled and disappointing. Ranger is nasty, especially in the playoffs when he turns into one of the better pitchers of this generation, but it is still unclear if he can hold up to the wear and tear guys like Wheeler, Nola, and even Sanchez can. He has yet to have a complete 162.
Suarez also faces the uphill mountain that is finding a spot in the Phillies’ super rotation. Zack Wheeler, Christopher Sanchez, and Aaron Nola lead the way and will be the class of the NL, but the Phillies still have even more to offer after that with recently acquired Jesus Luzardo. That leaves Ranger as the number five starter in the rotation as he obviously will beat out Taijuan Walker for the final starters spot. However, things might get a little crazier come June/July when Andrew Painter comes up. Rob Thomson has already made it clear that Painter, the Phillies’ top prospect, will be a starter when he comes up. So what does that mean? Well, much to the chagrin of Zack Wheeler, it probably means there is a chance at a six-man rotation. However, there is one path for Suarez that the team might push the lefty into, maybe well before Painter’s arrival.
The recent injury to Matt Strahm highlights a now present concern, the Phillies’ lack of bullpen depth, specifically on the left side. It raises the question, could Ranger start the season out of the bullpen and just end up staying there? As we have seen in limited spurts, Ranger has been a fantastic bullpen guy, famously closing out the NL Pennant in 2022. He is also unflappable, so high leverage moments don’t intimidate him. Could Ranger find himself as a lefty option out of the pen and be a guy who can spot start whenever necessary? That could be a very realistic scenario. I know what you’re thinking, that means Walker is in the rotation?! Well, yes, at least until Painter is on the big-league roster. As bad as it is, Walker has looked competent this spring with an uptick in velocity and the Phillies unfortunately are paying him $36 million through next season. He also will be useless out of the pen as he does not have the archetype to come out of the bullpen. If you look at it, the best path for getting Taijuan Walker off the Phillies would be showcasing him in the first half as a solid MLB starter in a league desperate for starters. If he is bad, you expect that, if he is good, you have another good starter or a tradable asset.
Ranger’s incredible skill as a utility knife, combined with his injury history, while unlikely, may cost him a full-time starting role on this Phillies team. It would be fair to assume Ranger and his agent will push to be a starter full time in 2025 though as he is about to hit free agency and a quality left-handed starter entering their age 29 season will make some serious, well-deserved money. Ultimately, this is a good problem to have as teams scrape together starts, the Phillies may realistically go seven starters deep. Whatever role Ranger has this year, he will crush with his calm and cool demeanor in what may be his last season in Philadelphia.
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