Left-hander Ranger Suárez and the Boston Red Sox agreed to a five-year, $130 million contract Wednesday, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.
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An All-Star in 2024, Suárez has spent his entire professional career with the Philadelphia Phillies after signing as a 16-year-old in April 2012. The 30-year-old Venezuelan left the bullpen early, but has been a consistent performer and mostly reliable winner since entering the rotation exclusively in 2022.
The deal is the first for a major league free agent for the Red Sox this season. This comes days after the Chicago Cubs outbid Alex Bregman, giving the outgoing Boston third baseman a five-year, $175 million contract with a no-trade clause that the Red Sox would not offer.
Instead, director of baseball Craig Breslow bolstered the pitching staff with a lefty who doesn’t throw hard but limits home runs and keeps hitters off-balance by changing speeds and hitting corners.
Suárez was 12-8 with a 3.20 ERA last season in 26 starts spanning a career-high 157 1/3 innings, then became a free agent for the first time and turned down a $22,025,000 qualifying offer from Philadelphia in November.
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His calling card is consistency. Suárez went 8-5 with a 1.36 ERA and four saves in 12 starts and 27 relief outings in 2021. He finished 10-7 with a 3.65 ERA in 29 starts and 155 1/3 innings the following season, then fell to 4-6 with a 4.18 ERA in 22 starts in 2023, when he landed on the injured list for a strained left elbow and later for a strained right hamstring. But he bounced back the next year, going 12-8 with a 3.46 ERA in 27 starts and 150 2/3 innings.
During that span, he was a key reason the Phillies made four straight postseason appearances from 2022-2025, winning a National League pennant and back-to-back NL East titles the past two years.
Suárez was also exceptional on the mound in the postseason, going 4-1 with a 1.48 ERA and one save in eight starts and three relief appearances totaling 42 2/3 innings.
Overall, in eight regular seasons in the majors, he is 53-37 with a 3.38 ERA, two shutouts and four saves in 187 games, including 119 starts. He struck out 705 batters and walked 240 in 762 innings.
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Back problems are sometimes a problem. Three times in the last four seasons, Suárez has spent time on the IL for lower back spasms, pain or stiffness.
He joins a rotation expected to include left-hander Garrett Crochet, right-handers Sonny Gray and Brayan Bello and perhaps rookie Payton Tolle or Connelly Early.
Because Suárez declined the qualifying offer, the Phillies get an additional pick after the fourth round of the amateur draft in July as compensation.
