The Philadelphia Phillies entered this free-agent period with four big names to monitor. While Harrison Bader and J.T. Realmuto are unsigned, Kyle Schwarber is back in Philly, while Ranger Suarez left to join the Boston Red Sox.
It's a big move for the Red Sox, as Suarez is signing a massive $130 million, five-year deal. For Phillies fans, losing the beloved lefty stings.
However, as Paul Casella of MLB.com notes, the Phillies were never going to bring Suarez back for 2026 and beyond this winter, and the Phillies have a real reason why.
Why Ranger Suarez was never re-signing with Phillies
"As tough as it may be to watch Suarez depart given all of his contributions and his status as a fan favorite," Casella writes, "there was never much of an expectation that he'd be back in 2026."
Suarez was beloved by the Phillies fanbase, as the lefty starter turned into one of the best postseason pitchers ever, posting a 1.48 ERA in 11 appearances in his career.
But, even though he's a fan favorite and would've been a nice player to have as part of the rotation, the Phillies' priorities were elsewhere.
Schwarber was the biggest issue to address, and they did so very early into the offseason, re-signing him at the Winter Meetings on a $150 million deal.
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J.T. Realmuto is another high priority for the Phillies, but thanks to his contract dispute with the team, they've begun exploring Bo Bichette as an alternative option.
Suarez is a Phillies icon and will always be appreciated by the fan base. But, he was never coming back, and now joins the stacked Red Sox rotation to help Boston win a very tough AL East.
There was never much of a chance Suarez was coming back, especially with Andrew Painter potentially making his MLB debut in 2026, and the rest of the rotation still in a strong spot.
Between the Phillies depth organizationally in the rotation, their other needs being of a higher priority, and the expensive contract Suarez was seeking (and got), the Phillies never had much of a chance to re-sign him.
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