Why Phillies’ Ranger Suárez declined All-Star game invitation

As expected, the Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the top teams in baseball this season. Rob Thomson and company have used a very strong lineup along with one of the best starting rotations in baseball to take a very slim lead over the New York Mets in the NL East with just a few games to go until the All-Star break.

Despite that incredible starting rotation, the Phillies only had one starting arm selected to represent the National League in the All-Star Game. Of course, that was ace Zack Wheeler, who was one of the top candidates to start for the National League. However, Wheeler has pulled out of the game in order to rest over the break and get ready for the second half of the season.

As it turns out, the Phillies could have had another All-Star pitcher this season. Ranger Suárez was apparently asked to be an All-Star, but he declined the invitation to rest according to Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Ranger Suárez said he was asked to be an All-Star three days ago, but he decided against it to prioritize rest,” March reported on X, formerly Twitter.

Suarez is overshadowed by the greatness of Wheeler in the Phillies’ rotation at times, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t capable of shutting down a lineup every time that he is on the bump. This season, Suarez has a 7-3 record in 13 starts with an incredible 11 quality starts.

He has been one of the best in the business at not allowing runs to cross the plate and currently stands with just a 1.94 ERA. While he only has 78 strikeouts in 83.2 innings, he has only walked 22 batters and uses his location to get easy outs for the defense.

Suarez’s decision to sit out of the All-Star Game has been a popular one amongst a lot of MLB stars this summer, with now a pair of Phillies starters joining the group. That has left the league scrambling to find replacements ahead of the festivities in Atlanta.