BREAKING: Phillies’ 3.79 ERA All-Star To Land With Cubs

When the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season closed, the Philadelphia Phillies found themselves in elite company. Across all 30 MLB teams, the Phillies finished with the eighth-best collective ERA, showcasing just how consistent and dominant their pitching staff had been throughout the season.

In baseball, ERA—earned run average—is one of the most important statistics for evaluating a pitcher’s effectiveness, measuring how many earned runs a pitcher allows over nine innings. For an entire pitching staff to finish as high as eighth is an achievement in itself, but looking deeper reveals just how strong the starting pitchers were.

Philadelphia’s pitchers combined for a 3.79 ERA, already an impressive number in a league filled with powerhouse offenses and homerun threats from top to bottom.

What separates the Phillies from most other teams, however, is that their starting rotation, the pitchers who begin games rather than coming in mid-game, posted a spectacular 3.53 ERA on their own. According to league-wide statistics, this ranked as the second-best starting rotation ERA in all of Major League Baseball.

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Among the talented arms in that rotation, Ranger Suárez stood out as one of the primary driving forces behind their success. Suárez has developed into one of the most reliable and poised left-handed starters in the game. For years, Philadelphia had been waiting for him to blossom into a full-time starting pitcher, and when he did, he exceeded expectations.

By the end of the 2024 season, Suárez’s performance placed him in elite company. A year earlier, in 2024, he was selected to the All-Star Game, an honor reserved for the league’s best and most productive players. What makes his case unique is that while he performed at an All-Star level again last season, he was surprisingly left off the roster, a decision that many analysts and fans viewed as a major snub.

Despite not receiving the All-Star nod, Suárez delivered arguably the strongest overall performance of his career. He posted a 3.20 ERA, which was lower than his previous All-Star campaign, reflecting continued improvement and development.

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In addition to his ERA, he reached a personal milestone when he struck out 151 hitters, the highest strikeout total he has ever recorded across a season. For a pitcher known historically as a soft-contact, ground-ball specialist rather than a heavy strikeout artist, that total demonstrated significant evolution in his approach and effectiveness.

Now, entering free agency, Suárez finds himself in a position many pitchers dream of: he is on the verge of becoming one of the most highly courted players available. His timing could not be more perfect. Teams across baseball are desperate for starting pitching, especially reliable left-handed starters with playoff experience, postseason composure, and a track record of improvement. Suárez checks every one of those boxes.

In evaluating the offseason market, several baseball insiders have begun linking Suárez to teams with immediate pitching needs. One of the most intriguing predictions came from Bob Nightengale of USA Today, a longtime MLB reporter known for tracking front-office trends, free agent speculation, and trade movement. Nightengale predicted that Suárez could ultimately sign with the Chicago Cubs, a franchise entering the winter with numerous pitching questions and a sense of urgency to upgrade their rotation.

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The Cubs’ rotation situation took a sudden turn when Shōta Imanaga, their dynamic left-hander from Japan, unexpectedly exercised the opt-out clause in his contract. His decision to test free agency caught many within the organization off-guard. Even if Chicago ultimately negotiates a new deal to bring Imanaga back, the Cubs are still facing the reality that their starting staff needs more depth and reliability—especially in a division that appears to be improving collectively.

Further complicating Chicago’s rotation picture is that Justin Steele, one of the team’s most talented starters, has been rehabbing following a season-ending elbow surgery. While Steele is expected to return, pitchers coming off major arm surgery often face workload restrictions or take time to regain their prior level of performance. Asking Steele to carry the rotation immediately would be unreasonable.

Given those circumstances, adding a pitcher like Suárez would bring stability, talent, and postseason experience to the staff. Since officially becoming a full-time starter in 2022, Suárez has maintained a 3.59 ERA, proving that he’s not just a one-year sensation—he is consistently effective year after year. He performs equally well in high-pressure environments, and he has faced elite offenses multiple times in playoff settings without showing signs of being overwhelmed by the stage.

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Chicago’s pitching staff was strong last year, finishing with the ninth-best team ERA in baseball. But while they ranked inside the top 10, the rotation still had inconsistencies and lacked depth. Many analysts believe that the Cubs need another top-tier arm to transition from being a borderline playoff contender to a legitimate National League threat.

Suárez fits that mold. He brings reliability, durability, and a skill set that complements the rest of the rotation. He’s a lefty who can work efficiently deep into games, limit hard contact, and pitch well against right-handed and left-handed hitters. Those strengths are increasingly rare, and teams are willing to pay heavily for someone who can anchor a rotation and maintain production late into the season.

But signing Suárez will not be cheap.

According to Spotrac, a platform that specializes in sports contracts and financial projections, Suárez is projected to land a six-year contract worth approximately $161 million on the free agent market. A contract of that size would make him one of the highest-paid pitchers available this offseason and reflects how much his value has climbed.

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A long-term deal of six years shows that teams aren’t just interested in Suárez’s recent production—they believe that his trajectory indicates room for continued improvement. The financial projection also reflects the current landscape of MLB free agency: pitching wins games, and reliable, left-handed starters are among the most valuable assets in professional baseball.

To summarize the significance of Suárez’s free agency:

• The Phillies had one of the strongest rotations in baseball.

• Ranger Suárez was one of the biggest reasons why.

• He has shown consistent improvement since becoming a starter.

• The Cubs are in urgent need of rotation help, especially after losing Imanaga and dealing with Steele’s injury.

• Suárez is expected to receive significant financial offers, possibly reaching a six-year, nine-figure deal.

Ultimately, wherever Suárez signs, that team will be investing not only in his performance but also in his postseason experience, reliability, and ability to anchor a rotation. Teams can spend years searching for someone who gives them 180+ innings, a low ERA, and a calm presence in the playoffs. Suárez offers all that, and he is entering his prime.

With several organizations desperately trying to improve their starting rotations—not just the Cubs—Suárez is likely to be one of the most active storylines of the offseason.