Phillies star projected to sign 6-year, $164M deal after dominant season

The Philadelphia Phillies were one of the best teams in the league again this year, but again, they fell short of the World Series.

This offseason, the Phillies are expected to go through some important changes. They could lose one of their top pitchers, Ranger Suárez, as the lefty heads into free agency after a dominant season.

MLB insider Jim Bowden of The Athletic recently projected Suárez would sign a massive six-year contract worth $164 million this winter.

“Suárez has been one of the most consistent left-handed starters in baseball over the last two seasons, making a combined 53 starts with an ERA and FIP both hovering around 3.30 over that span,” Bowden wrote. “He doesn’t throw hard, but his secondary pitches are very effective, and he throws strikes. There should be plenty of interest in the lefty considering he has only 762 career innings at the major-league level on his pitching odometer.”

Suárez has been dominant with the Phillies, but it’s unlikely he’s brought back, especially at this price tag.

The Phillies are likely going to be more worried about re-signing or replacing Kyle Schwarber than they will be with Suárez.

Philadelphia has a talented pitching prospect, Andrew Painter, who’s seemingly ready to slot into the big league rotation. Painter seems like the easy rotation replacement for the Phillies.

But Suárez could land a deal of this caliber from one of the other desperate contenders in baseball.

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