{"id":111626,"date":"2026-01-04T19:20:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T00:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=111626"},"modified":"2026-01-04T19:20:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T00:20:12","slug":"why-mets-should-go-after-ranger-suarez-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/01\/04\/why-mets-should-go-after-ranger-suarez-free-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Mets Should Steal All-Star Lefty from Division Rival"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The New York Mets have a big weakness that has not been addressed this offseason. That is their <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/01\/04\/mets-edward-cabrera-trade-rumors\/\" target=\"_self\">starting pitching<\/a>. The Mets&#8217; rotation was very lackluster in the second half of last season. They ended the season 18th in ERA (4.03) and in opponent batting average (.246). Safe to say there were a lot of issues with that rotation last season. One guy who can help to improve it knows the Mets very well, as he has played with their NL East rival, the Philadelphia Phillies. That man is free agent left-hander <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/suarera01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ranger Su\u00e1rez<\/a>, and he is a piece the Mets should look into getting.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_70832\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-70832\" style=\"width: 750px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-70832\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/04\/USATSI_23042486_168400885_lowres-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/04\/USATSI_23042486_168400885_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/04\/USATSI_23042486_168400885_lowres-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/04\/USATSI_23042486_168400885_lowres-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/04\/USATSI_23042486_168400885_lowres-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/04\/USATSI_23042486_168400885_lowres-2048x1367.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/04\/USATSI_23042486_168400885_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/04\/USATSI_23042486_168400885_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-70832\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apr 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) celebrates with catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) after pitching a complete game shutout against the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>The Mets Should Get Ranger Su\u00e1rez, and Here&#8217;s Why<\/h2>\n<p>Su\u00e1rez, who is entering his age-30 season, would be a nice addition to this Mets rotation. While he may not be an ace, he certainly bolsters this rotation that has a lot of question marks. Su\u00e1rez has a lifetime record of 53 &#8211; 37 with a career 3.38 ERA in his time with the Phillies. While those numbers are not jaw-dropping, he is still a solid piece that the Mets would want, and here&#8217;s why.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">We have a Ranger Suarez update per <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Feinsand?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Feinsand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSu\u00e1rez has been linked to the Mets and Orioles throughout the winter, which is hardly a surprise given their respective needs for starting pitching.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut Su\u00e1rez is two years younger than Valdez, making him a more appealing option\u2026 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/K8HK0oiAYy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/K8HK0oiAYy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 SleeperPhillies (@SleeperPhillies) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SleeperPhillies\/status\/2007114387677421822?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 2, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Su\u00e1rez is a Magician Come Playoff Time<\/h3>\n<p>In his career in the playoffs, Suarez has a record of 4-1 with an ERA of 1.48 in 42 2\/3 innings pitched.\u00a0 If the Mets were to make the playoffs next season, a guy like this would really come in handy. The Mets have seen him firsthand numerous times, so it would not hurt them to take him away from one of their division rivals. He would make a great number two or three starter in their rotation.<\/p>\n<p>With the Mets having guys like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holmecl01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Clay Holmes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sengako01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kodai Senga<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/peterda01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Peterson<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/manaese01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sean Manaea<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mcleano01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-04_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nolan McLean<\/a>, it would not hurt them to go out and pay a little for a playoff performer like Su\u00e1rez. The Mets need to improve the rotation and not run it back with the same core, as we saw some of them have down seasons in 2025. Senga has looked like a one-hit wonder so far, and Manaea had a big down year after his solid 2024 performance. Adding Su\u00e1rez to the mix would really help, but his injury history is something to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n<h3>Injury History<\/h3>\n<p>Su\u00e1rez has had a history of injuries over the past few seasons. He had a lower back strain that sidelined him for a while in 2024, and he had more back discomfort again in 2025. He has also never started 30 games in his major league career. The question would be, are the Mets willing to look past his back issues to gain a big-game starter like him?<\/p>\n<h3>Will the Mets Get A Guy Like Su\u00e1rez?<\/h3>\n<p>It is all up to David Stearns, and if he is willing to take a risk on a pitcher of Su\u00e1rez&#8217;s ilk or if he will use his money elsewhere. The Mets should certainly be looking to add Su\u00e1rez to the rotation, and they could slot him in as the number two starter behind McLean if they see him as the ace of the future. Whether the Mets get Su\u00e1rez or not this offseason, they need to be in the market for a starting pitcher of his caliber.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The New York Mets have a big weakness that has not been addressed this offseason. That is their starting pitching. The Mets&#8217; rotation was very lackluster in the second half of last season. They ended the season 18th in ERA (4.03) and in opponent batting average (.246). Safe to say there were a lot of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5729,"featured_media":103226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,1071,35],"tags":[5566,1332,6456,3753,3009,3075],"class_list":["post-111626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mets","category-mlb","category-news","tag-clay-holmes","tag-david-peterson","tag-kodai-senga","tag-nolan-mclean","tag-ranger-suarez","tag-sean-manaea"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5729"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111626"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111626\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111640,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111626\/revisions\/111640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}