Phillies 3-Time All-Star Hints Red Sox Hit Jackpot With Ranger Suárez

As if Red Sox fans needed more reasons to be excited...

Sep 21, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) and catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) talk as they take the field for action against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

When your favorite baseball team signs a free agent, it's music to your ears to hear his former team wax poetic about how much they loved playing with him.

The Boston Red Sox gave starting pitcher Ranger Suárez a five-year, $130 million deal this winter, the largest free-agent deal they'd given any pitcher since David Price a decade ago. It's a lot of money to sink into any starting pitcher, especially one whose fastball sometimes hovers around 90 mph.

But to hear his former Philadelphia Phillies teammates tell it, that price may have been a bargain for Boston.

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J.T. Realmuto waxes poetic about Suárez

May 26, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) talks with catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) in the second inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

On Thursday, Phillies three-time All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto raved about playing with Suárez, and sent plenty of hints about how much the Red Sox and their fans were going to enjoy having him around for the next half-decade.

“He throws plenty of fastballs up there at 94-95 miles per hour, but a lot of times he’s pitching at 89-90, just dominating. For a catcher, that’s so much fun,” Realmuto said, per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe.

“Everything you want in a starting pitcher: mixes his pitches well, he’s able to throw five or six pitches for strikes, hit both sides of the plate with everything. (Boston) will really grow to love how calm he looks on the mound all the time.”

Realmuto arrived with the Phillies in a trade before the 2019 season, and at the time, Suárez was still a rookie with just four major league appearances to his name. The two were instrumental in getting Philadelphia out of the doldrums of the late 2010s and turning that team into a perennial playoff contender.

Speaking of October, Realmuto had the best view in the house for every outing of Suárez's playoff career, as the lefty owns a 1.48 ERA thus far in 42 2/3 postseason innings.

While nothing he did in Philadelphia counts toward his track record in Boston, it should give Red Sox fans confidence to know everyone he's leaving behind seemingly wishes he could have stayed.