You could make the case that it was a strange offseason for the Boston Red Sox. Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow became one of the last teams to sign a free agent. Maybe that was because he was waiting for Alex Bregman to make his decision. That decision was made in January, and he signed with the Chicago Cubs.
That left Breslow to scramble, looking to replace him. The problem was that when he pivoted, he pivoted to a starting pitcher. Not what many people saw coming. Instead of addressing a need for a third baseman, he added to his rotation.
Boston agreed to a five-year, $130 million contract with former Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez. Not many people saw the coming or had it on their bingo card. Regardless, it was a move that solidified the No. 2 spot in the starting rotation behind Garrett Crochet. On Thursday, Suárez’s former teammate with the Phillies, J.T. Realmuto, spoke about his former pitcher, and it was something that Boston fans wanted to hear.
Former Philadelphia Phillies Teammates Talk About Ranger Suárez With the Boston Red Sox
During Philadelphia’s 6-2 spring training win over Boston on Thursday, Realmuto spoke about Suárez and what he could bring to the Red Sox.
“He throws plenty of fastballs up there at 94-95 miles per hour, but a lot of times he’s pitching at 89-90, just dominating. For a catcher, that’s so much fun,” said Realmuto.“Everything you want in a starting pitcher: mixes his pitches well, he’s able to throw five or six pitches for strikes, hit both sides of the plate with everything. (Boston) will really grow to love how calm he looks on the mound all the time.”
Suárez’s numbers might always show it, but he was a big-time pitcher for Philadelphia in both the regular season and playoffs. Last season, he went 12-8 for the second straight year. His ERA dropped to 3.20 in 157.1 innings with 151 strikeouts. His WAR WAS 4.7, the second-best of his career. He had a 5.6 WAR in 2021.
However, in the playoffs, he was just as good, if not better. He has a 1.48 career ERA in 11 playoff appearances with 44 strikeouts in 42.1 innings with a 4-1 record. His only appearance in last fall’s postseason saw him pitch five innings with four strikeouts and one run in relief of an 8-2 Game 3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“He seems to always pitch better in the biggest moments. He’s been that way for a long time for us,” Realmuto added.
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There was a clear preference for adding pitching this offseason for Breslow. Before he signed Suárez, Breslow traded for Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals and Johan Oviedo from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Boston has as good a Top 4 of Crochet, Suárez, Gray, and Brayan Bello as there is in the American League East.
Spring training will determine who gets the No. 5 slot in the rotation for Opening Day. That could go to Oviedo or either young left-hander Connelly Early or Payton Tolle. Regardless, Boston has plenty of depth this year, but they also have one of the top 1-2 punches at the top of a rotation with Crochet and Suárez. Realmuto’s comment should only solidify that.
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