The Philadelphia Phillies won the National League East last year thanks to a great year from their starting pitchers. Zach Wheeler was a Cy Young contender, Aaron Nola was great, and Cristobal Sanchez was an All-Star. But no one emerged out of nowhere like Ranger Suarez, who led the Phillies with a dominant first half. As his contract year begins, Suarez gave the Philly media a hint at his offseason decision.

Ranger Suárez speaking to the media after today’s game.

Says he wants to spend his entire career with the Phillies. “This is my childhood club . . . All I think about is staying here.” pic.twitter.com/y1DRz5QS0c

— John Foley (@2008Philz) March 5, 2025

“This is my childhood club, my childhood organization. I’ve played here since I was young, really young. All I think about is staying here. I want to pitch here for the rest of my career.”

Suarez is in the final year of team control, making $8.8 million from arbitration this offseason. His unrestricted free agency could get pricey considering the price tags on pitchers in recent years. But he says that the Phillies’ current rotation is a great one to be a part of.

“Tremendous group of pitchers we have here. All of our guys are great, from Wheeler, Nola, Sanchy, now we have [Jesus Luzardo], [Taijuan Walker]. They’re all great. We all know what we can do and I think if it’s in our fate to be all healthy this year, I think we will have a tremendous amount of success.”

The Phillies have a dominant rotation

The National League East got much better this offseason when Juan Soto signed with the New York Mets. Add Ronald Acuña Jr back to the Braves, along with Jurickson Profar, and they have improved. That makes it an even tougher test for Suarez and the Phillies but could end in a bigger contract for the pitcher.

Through June 25 last season, Suarez made 16 starts and the Phillies won 13 of them. His 1.83 ERA had him in the lead for the Cy Young before an injury derailed his season. Even without him, they were able to hang on to the division title and make the playoffs. If Suarez gets off to a similar start this year, the price tag could get hefty.

Suarez had not had a season like his beginning of 2024 since joining the starting rotation in 2022. He did have a 1.36 ERA over 39 appearances as a reliever in 2021 but his ERA has been above 3.00 in every starter season. The Phillies have a chance to win the World Series because of their rotation but it could cost them big time next offseason with Ranger Suarez’s contract.