Philadelphia Phillies Upcoming Free Agent Will Be Player To Watch in Spring Training

Who is the top player to watch for the Philadelphia Phillies in Spring Training?

Sep 27, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. | James A. Pittman-Imagn Images

With pitchers and catchers reporting for Spring Training, the Philadelphia Phillies will be excited to get back on the field after a disappointing end to the 2024 campaign.

Even though it appeared the Phillies might shake things up this winter, they ended up keeping the core intact to run it back in 2025.

While most of the important pieces return, they did make some upgrades.

Even though it didn’t impact them in the playoffs, the fifth starter spot with Taijuan Walker was a massive issue down the stretch in the regular season.

Philadelphia didn’t feel comfortable relying on him to bounce back this coming year and elected to trade for a talented young left-hander in Jesus Luzardo. The southpaw missed most of the 2024 season with the Miami Marlins, but he flashed some excellence in 2023.

Luzardo will be joining one of the best rotations in baseball that has depth from top to bottom.

As the team gets set for the start of the campaign, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com recently spoke about left-handed Ranger Suarez being a player to watch during Spring Training.

“Which version of Suárez shows up in 2025 will be an important question, both for the state of the Phillies and for his future. Suárez, who hired Scott Boras as his agent this offseason, will be a free agent at season's end.”

This is going to be huge campaign for the 29-year-old left-hander, who will be pitching in a contract year.

Due to the addition of Luzardo, Philadelphia might already have a backup plan in place to let Suarez go next offseason.

Even if this will be the left-hander's last year with the Phillies, he will be very motivated to pitch the best he can to secure a nice contract.

In 2024 with Philadelphia, he totaled a 12-8 record, 3.46 ERA, and 145 strikeouts in 150 innings pitched. The southpaw was excellent in the first half of the season, which resulted in him making the All-Star team. However, the second half of the campaign wasn’t very good.

After the All-Star break, he totaled a 5.65 ERA and saw his WHIP nearly reach 1.70.

As Suarez heads into the upcoming season, there will be a couple of things he will want to work on. Being consistent will certainly be one and also getting more innings under his belt will be another.

The left-hander has never hit the 160-innings plateau, which could impact him in free agency.

Contract years are always a big deal for players, and Suarez has a lot to prove.