Ex-Phillies GM predicts Ranger Suarez’s free agent contract, factors in Bryce Harper, Juan Soto's agent Scott Boras' involvement

The Philadelphia Phillies sit atop the National League East division, and starting pitcher Ranger Suarez has been their best performer on the mound. The 29-year-old has thrown seven or more innings in his last five appearances, not giving up more than one earned run.

Suarez avoided arbitration before the 2025 season, signing an $8.8 million contract. With the 2024 All-Star becoming an unrestricted free agent after this season, former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. predicted how much the 29-year-old could earn in free agency in Monday's episode of "The Phillies Show."

Amaro Jr. factored in Suarez's agent, Scott Boras, who helped Juan Soto and Bryce Harper sign $765 million and $330 million deals with the Mets and the Phillies, respectively.

"I think his AAV would be somewhere between 25 and 28, 25 and 30," Amaro Jr. said. "I could see him at 20 the way Boras works, and maybe a shorter deal and get the higher AAV so he can say "Hey, he got a bigger AAV than you know, bigger AAV than somebody else," because that's what he always wants, to make benchmarks."

The former Phillies GM believes that no team will offer Suarez a deal for more than seven or eight years due to his injury-prone history. The starting pitcher injured his back in 2022, his elbow and hamstring in 2023, and missed the beginning of the 2025 season due to back soreness.

"I also think just a lot of teams are going to shy away from the velocity," the former GM added. "These people who are running baseball teams in this day and age are not understanding how important it is to be able to pitch as opposed to throw, and so they get lit up by the velocity."

Suarez's fastball sits around 91-93 mph, which Amaro Jr. believes will rule out 12 to 15 teams. The 60-year-old is confident that Suarez could get a four or five-year deal, but thinks Boras will push it to six. As for the total deal, Amaro Jr. says it will be between $160 million and $185 million.

Ex-Phillies GM hails Ranger Suarez, compares him to a legend

In his past two starts on the mound, Ranger Suarez has an ERA of 1.23. He allowed just eight hits in 14.2 innings. He gave up just two runs, allowing four walks while striking out 15 sluggers. The only two runs he gave up were solo home runs, and he has an exceptional 1.19 ERA in his last 10 starts, the best for a Phillies pitcher in that stretch, since Cliff Lee in 2011.

Phillies insider Todd Zolecki noted the above statistics on "The Phillies Show," which garnered huge appreciation from Ruben Amaro Jr.

"I don't think there's any question. Ranger Suarez is the man," Amaro Jr. said. [From 12:53]. "The thing I love about him is it’s like he’s literally just playing catch out there with the catcher. He’s a left-handed Liván Hernández."

Hernandez was a two-time All-Star who played 17 seasons in the MLB. He had his best years with the Florida Marlins, winning the 1997 World Series. Hernandez was also the NLCS and World Series MVP.

Edited by Krutik Jain