It’s the question hanging over each one of pitcher Ranger Suárez’s superb starts: Will he be leaving the Phillies after the season when he enters the free-agent market? Well, it’s looking that way, according to consensus opinion. Unless the Phils make him an offer he cannot refuse in the next couple months. But that seems unlikely.

It would be a tremendous loss for Philadelphia if Suárez goes elsewhere, considering how dominant he’s been this year with a 6-2 record and 2.08 ERA. And in his past nine starts, Suárez’s ERA drops down to 1.17 over 61⅓ innings. Since 1969 when the mound was lowered, the only other Phillies pitchers to throw that many innings with an ERA that low over a nine-start span are Cliff Lee (2011) and Hall of Famer Steve Carlton (1972), which MLB writer Paul Casella pointed out.

Former Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro said on The Phillies Show’s latest edition that dropped Wednesday that he would “preemptively try to sign” catcher J.T. Realmuto and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber who are both free agents post-2025 season. But in regards to Suárez, Amaro says “he would hold off on Ranger until I found out he could pitch all the way through the season and knowing that he is healthy and takes care of himself.”

That’s been the biggest con against signing the 29-year-old lefty: his durability. Suárez has been on the injured list five times in his career, with three of those instances related to back issues. He missed the first five weeks of the 2025 season due to an injured back. And he’s never thrown more than 156 innings in a season.

“I love the guy. I love the way he pitches. I love everything about him. But your best ability is your availability,” Amaro said.

However, Suárez has been durable of late, pitching at least six innings in nine consecutive starts, and he’s lasted seven innings in each of his past four outings, including a 7⅔-inning beaut on Tuesday against the Astros when he allowed just two baserunners but took the loss because the Phillies failed to score a run.

Amaro acknowledges that, if the Phillies wait till after the season to try to sign Suárez and he continues to dominate the way he is right now, his price tag will soar to around a $200-million contract.

“If he finishes off the season the way he is pitching right now, that’s exactly what (Suarez’s agent) Scott Boras is looking for,” Amaro said while adding that Suárez could get a Max Fried-type deal. This past offseason, the Yankees gave Fried $218 million over eight years.

Phillies writer Matt Gelb of The Athletic chimed in on Suárez’s status: “There have been certain assumptions about the 29-year-old lefty all year. He’s bound for free agency after the season, and after hiring Scott Boras over the winter, he must be seeking a massive payday that could preclude him from the Phillies’ plans.”

And if the Phillies fail to sign Suárez before he hits free agency, they know exactly what they will be losing, and so do we — an artist on the mound: