March 23, 2025
Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images
Ranger Suárez pitching during spring training earlier in the month.
Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez will begin the season on the Injured List, which will have right-hander Taijuan Walker move into the rotation as the fifth starter for the time being, manager Rob Thomson said on Sunday per MLB.com's Phillies beat Todd Zolecki.
Rob Thomson said on the TV broadcast that Ranger Suárez will start the season on the IL.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) March 23, 2025
Taijuan Walker will be the No. 5 starter. He will start the sixth game of the season.
The Phillies open the season in Washington on Thursday.
Suárez, the No. 3 starter in the Phillies' rotation for the past several years, started experiencing back pain earlier in the month and progress coming back from it appeared to be taken day by day.
The Phillies' expected rotation to begin 2025 was lined up as Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez, and then Suárez as the fifth starter, per Zolecki from earlier in the week, which would have given the 29-year-old the biggest recovery window possible without going on the IL, but it seems now that he will need more time and thus placement on it.
Suárez went 12-8 in 2024 with a 3.46 ERA and an 8.66 strikeouts per nine innings rate. He got off to a scorching 10-1 start that contributed to the Phillies looking like they had the best rotation in the Majors at one point, but in the second half of the season, he evened out a bit – and notably with back issues then as well that caused him to miss time.
That Suárez will miss time with back issues again to start a new season is not a good early sign for the Phillies, nor him entering a contract year.
It does present another opportunity for Walker to carve out a new role on the Phillies, though. Granted, that thought is hard-pressed to be met with optimism from fans.
The 32-year-old had a disastrous 2024 and while it looked like he might've been on to something for a bit this spring, a nine-hit, six-earned run day in his last exhibition outing on March 19 brought a lot of optimism from that crashing back to down to earth.
For the bullpen, the Phillies claimed right-hander Carlos Hernández off waivers from the Royals, the club announced Sunday.
Right-hander and South Jersey native Tyler Phillips was designated for assignment to make room for Hernández on the 40-man roster.
The Phillies have claimed RHP Carlos Hernández off waivers from the Kansas City Royals. To make room for Hernández on the 40-man roster, RHP Tyler Phillips was designated for assignment.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) March 23, 2025
MORE: Phillies uncomfortably thin at starting pitcher
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