The Phillies announced that left-hander Ranger Suarez has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to lower back soreness. The placement is retroactive to July 24. Left-hander Kolby Allard has been called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take Suarez’s spot on the active roster.
Suarez’s back has been bothering him for some time, as he passed on playing in his first All-Star Game in order to rest up over the break and hopefully return to form. This plan didn’t come to fruition, as Suarez allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk over 5 1/3 innings in his first start after the break, a 7-2 Phillies loss to the Twins on July 22. Losing Suarez for a minimum of 15 days anyway now makes it easy to criticize the Phils’ plan in hindsight, yet with nine days in between starts, it is understandable why Suarez and the team thought he’d have enough time to put this back issue behind him.
Philadelphia’s nine-game lead in the NL East gives the team some flexibility with injuries, of course, and this IL stint now gives Suarez plenty of time to fully get healthy for the stretch run and into October. With a 7.71 ERA in his last four starts and 21 innings, Suarez has seemingly been trying to pitch through discomfort for some time, though some regression was perhaps inevitable given his red-hot start to the 2024 season.
Even with his recent struggles, Suarez still has a 2.87 ERA across 119 1/3 innings, as well as barrel, walk, and hard-hit ball rates that rank among the league’s best. After delivering solid numbers as a member of the Phillies’ rotation in 2022-23, Suarez’s emergence into a borderline ace has only added to the team’s enviable pitching depth. Suarez, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Cristopher Sanchez have all been good to great, and Spencer Turnbull and Tyler Phillips have also been good in some spot duty.
With Suarez, Turnbull, and Taijuan Walker all on the IL at the moment, Allard might get the next opportunity at filling a hole in the rotation. Allard signed a split contract with the Phillies during the offseason, but the six-year MLB veteran hasn’t distinguished himself with a 5.60 ERA over 72 1/3 minor league innings.
Walker is slated to throw a live batting practice today as he works his way back from blister problems, but he won’t be an option for the rotation until August, and after he has banked a minor league rehab start or two. This might put him roughly on the same timeline as Suarez assuming the back problem isn’t overly serious, so the Phillies could try to make do with Allard or Michael Mercado until reinforcements arrive. It is possible the team might seek out some rotation depth at the trade deadline, but that might be more likely to come in the form of a swingman type that could easily transition to the bullpen once the regular starters are healthy.
Ooof. Welp the arms are out there before Tuesday afternoon. Price may go up even
more with NYM and perhaps now PHI entering the auction hall
Not good. Suarez has been battling back issues all this month.
Hopefully it doesn’t linger into the playoffs
Hopefully he comes back from this. Having hurt my back once and knowing how it can throw everything off, the bad pun was intended, but the wish for healing sincere.
DD will be EXTRA aggressive (which is kind of redundant because he is not shy about making bold efforts in the past) getting at least another RP and probably a SP.
PHI still probably wants to get another OF option besides Hays.
The only responsible approach for DD is to think worse case scenario with Suarez and if it is just minor then you still put yourself IN a very good position to win a WS.
Every team only has about a 5 year window before some of their core players start to decline.
Teams like HOU, ATL, LAD, BOS have had to deal with this in the 5 years or so. (major injuries, losing Mookie etc.)
And COVID year 2020 was such a strange situation that no team could possibly prepare for
HOU will get a SP and they are a DANGEROUS TEAM.
If I was their GM I bring back Springer from TOR.
Tucker comes back and they could win 1 more World Series
They could survive Bregman leaving next year and maybe Tucker the next.
The rest of the league you should fear the Astros.
You know what would have been helpful? If Spencer Turnbull wasn’t sent to the bullpen after his 1st 6 starts in which he had given up 1 R per start over 32.2 IP, and the Phillies had 5 SP in the top 16 in WHIP, ERA , and K/BB ratio at that time. But, in order to rush Taijuan Walker back into the rotation(despite struggling in his rehab starts). Turnbull, who NEVER pitched from the pen in his career and expressed concern over the difference in preparation between Starting and relieving, Sat in the BP as a long reliever in lopsided games for 2 months as Walker struggled in all but 1 of his starts.Walker was put back on the IL due to concerns on why he couldn’t throw his splitter (best pitch) so Turnbull was then moved back to starter, in 3 days notice. Turnbull pitched 3 SHO innings but was unable to pitch the 4th due to injury, and is out til Mid-late August bc of the injury, which was most likely due to his switch to the pen and then sudden move back to the rotation. If they would have let Turnbull stay in the rotation, (whetgwr it was a 6 man rotation, or allowing Walker to pitch from the pen until change was needed, the team now has both Walker and Turnbull on IL, and now Ranger will be joining them. So the rotation currently sits at Wheeler, Nola. Sanchez, T.Phillips, and K.Allard. And what was the #1 BP in the league at the break, now has 4(maybe 4.5) trustworthy Relievers…RH’s Hoffman and Kerkering/ LHs Strahm and Alvarado and half the time Soto.behnd those guys its Y.Marte,vJ Ruiz, & ???
You are correct!!!!
YES gww, spot on, so Philly usually pretty solid with decisions, BUT they screwed up badly the Turnbull / Walker debacle.
Their love affair with TWalker is/was bizarro, many of us saw that Walker mess coming from miles away.
Def. a black eye, hopefully for them they keep winning and come Oct is only a footnote.
But Turnbull will not forget, and this likely soured him enough to affect his future FA signings.
Think they should reach out to their good friends the Anaheim Angels and try to acquire Reid Detmers & Carlos Estevez. Estevez career numbers in August & September give me pause, but I would imagine these guys get a little extra juice when they’re traded to a contender.
I’d rather go for a rental like Flaherty then get Tanner Scott
Wow, Allard is terrible even in AAA . The Iron Pigs staff must be horrendous if this is who they called up.
How do these young guys get such bad backs? Do they not lift or deadlift? I’d like to ask their trainer what type of back bug has hit the Phillies. This is like the 3rd or 4th guy this season. What are they moving couches and refrigerators in the clubhouse or or the side without proper support or bending at the knees? Now they have 3 legit starters and 5 legit relievers. The rest are full in guys and two dudes living the MLB dream story until the bubble busts or guys get healthy. Have to have a strong August and September not an end of summer limping into the playoffs.
I’ll say it again and catch heat by some but don’t care or need him to do anything but pitch and that’s go sign Trevor Bauer. He’s better than almost all the starters in the MLB on the block, won’t cost you prospects and if he stinks after 3 starts then cut him lose and see if guys like Allard (a Braves trash pile guy and the Braves never get rid of good pitchers, if they ditch a guy, he’s done.) is what’s needed.