Philadelphia Phillies All-Star Pitcher Facing 'Biggest Year of His Life'

A Philadelphia Phillies pitcher has a chance to make himself a lot of money during the 2025 season.

Oct 9, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) throws a pitch against the New York Mets in the first inning in game four of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The strength of the Philadelphia Phillies heading into spring training in preparation for the 2025 MLB season is going to be their starting rotation.

They came into the offseason looking to upgrade the No. 5 spot, as the production from Taijuan Walker left a lot to be desired. That feat was accomplished in a trade with the Miami Marlins, whom they acquired Jesus Luzardo from.

The Phillies are hoping that he can bounce back after an abysmal 2024 that was marred by injuries after a very productive 2023 campaign.

Adding him to the mix not only gives Philadelphia one of the best rotations in baseball but also gives them some insurance for the future.

Luzard turned only 27 years old in September and is under team control for two more years. He and Andrew Painter, the team’s top pitching prospect, could start moving their way up the pecking order with Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola turning 35 and 32, respectively, in 2025.

It also will help compensate for the potential loss of Ranger Suarez, who is entering his last season of club control.

2025 is a massive year for the All-Star lefty who has settled into a starter’s role over the last three years. So big that Todd Zolecki of MLB.com has called this “the biggest year of his life” and is focusing on Suarez as the team’s No. 1 storyline in free agency.

2024 was a tale of two halves for him, as he dominated out of the gate. But, his season was derailed when he started dealing with injuries and never regianed that form, as his production plummeted.

Through his first 16 starts, Suarez looked like he would be competing with Wheeler as a Cy Young Award candidate. He had a 10-2 record with a stellar 1.84 ERA, stifling opponents every time he took the mound.

Hamstring, back and shoulder ailments all popped up, as he managed only 11 starts after June 25. He struggled mightily, recording a ghastly 6.54 ERA over that stretch.

Set to hit free agency, will Suarez be viewed as a top-of-the-line starter or someone who has to settle into a middle or backend role because of injury concerns?

It will be the difference in tens of millions of dollars. This past free agency showed that teams are willing to spend top dollar on pitching on the open market with record-setting contracts flying around.

Suarez can put himself in position to land one of those deals if he can return to form and stay healthy. The motivation will be there to perform at a high level and he has already shown capable of doing it for stretches at a time.

Now, he just has to put it together for an entire 162-game campaign and the nine-figure offers will be rolling in next winter.