By Jackson RobertsShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberThe Philadelphia Phillies face an interesting dilemma in free agency.
Most teams don't have a single All-Star hitting the open market in a given year, but the Phillies currently have three. Catcher J.T. Realmuto, designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, and starting pitcher Ranger Suárez all could feasibly walk after long and productive stints with the club.
Schwarber hit 56 home runs this year, so the Phillies are almost guaranteed to exhaust their options for a new deal with him, and without Realmuto, their catching depth chart would be exceptionally iffy. Does that make Suárez, who had another great season this year and has always been lights-out in the playoffs, the most expendable of the three?
...Adding to the doubt about the Phillies' ability to keep Suárez, Pete Caldera of NorthJersey.com predicted Tuesday that the 30-year-old southpaw would sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who eliminated the Phillies from this year's postseason in four games and went on to win a second-straight World Series.
"The world champs add a reliable lefty starter," Caldera briefly explained.
Suárez racked up 18.1 wins above replacement in his eight seasons with the Phillies, and he owns a 1.48 ERA in 42 2/3 innings in the playoffs. This season was one of his finest, as he set a new career-high with 157 1/3 innings pitched and had a solid 3.20 ERA.
The Dodgers have been just one major obstacle for the Phillies during this four-year stretch of playoff appearances that have only amounted to one pennant and no World Series trophies.They don't need Suárez on paper, but weakening one of their top competitors for another National League title might be reward enough for the team with the deepest pockets in the sport.
Suárez was projected for a six-year, $153 million deal last month by Tim Britton of The Athletic, and there's a lot more reason to believe the Dodgers can finagle that with no big-name free agents of their own hitting the market than it would be for the Phillies if Schwarber and/or Realmuto returned.
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