Phillies All-Star pitcher likely to start season on IL

Philadelphia Phillies All-Star left-hander Ranger Suárez is expected to start the 2025 season on the 15-day injured list due to a lingering back issue, manager Rob Thomson confirmed on Sunday.

“We don’t want this thing to linger,” Thomson told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. “So if we do officially IL him, we don’t think it’s going to be long.”

Suárez has been sidelined since March 15 and has only recently resumed playing catch. Given his history of back problems—including one that disrupted a potential Cy Young run last season—the Phillies are being cautious. The team hopes that allowing him to fully recover now will help prevent the kind of late-season struggles he experienced in 2024, when his ERA jumped from 2.76 before the All-Star break to 5.65 afterward.

By retroactively placing him on the IL and utilizing three scheduled off-days in the first 12 days of the season, Philadelphia expects Suárez to miss just one start and potentially return as soon as April 8 against the Braves.