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Ranger Suárez has very specific goal for first Red Sox season — in nonchalant, casual style
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- Ranger Suárez has very specific goal for first Red Sox season — in nonchalant, casual style
FORT MYERS, Fla. — On YouTube, nearly 10,000 people have viewed a montage entitled "18 minutes of Ranger Suárez fielding 100 ground balls."
Two years ago, the official MLB YouTube account posted a highlight of Suárez fielding a ground ball against the Diamondbacks with the title: "There's nonchalant ... and then there's Ranger Suárez ."
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During the 2022 World Series, FOX play-by-play man Joe Davis called Suárez "the best fielding pitcher in the National League" and said it looked like he was "playing in the backyard" when he retired Alex Bregman with a tapper in the eighth inning of a tie game.
The Red Sox signed Suárez to a five-year, $130 million contract last month because they think his deep pitch mix can make him a strong running mate alongside ace Garrett Crochet in their starting rotation for years to come. In Suárez, though, Boston is getting something else: one of the best — and certainly one of the most entertaining — pitchers at fielding his position in all of baseball.
"What you see is what you get," said manager Alex Cora. "The whole 'no pulse, chill' guy is real."
The back of Suárez's baseball card shows a 3.38 ERA in eight major league seasons, an All-Star appearance in 2024 and postseason dominance to the tune of a 1.48 ERA in 11 postseason outings (including two in that 2022 World Series). A deeper look reveals the 30-year-old is a standout in another, more unheralded category. Since 2021, the first year Suárez threw more than 50 innings in the majors, he ranks first among all pitchers in defensive runs saved with 25. He's four clear of the next-highest pitcher, his ex-Phillies teammate Taijuan Walker . The Red Sox pitching staff was tied for the second-highest error total in the American League last year with 16. Suárez has four errors in his career.
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Suárez thrives off keeping hitters off balance and soft contact, so it's logical that he gets plenty of grounders hit to him. Because of that fact, the Venezuela native has always prided himself on his defense — and has even, at times, gone viral for it.
"Outs right now in the big leagues are so hard to get, so when you get soft contact and get to field your position, you want to make sure you get that out because those outs are very important," Suárez said Friday through interpreter Carlos Villoria Benítez. "For me, to be able to field my position in a good way and to be able to be ready for that soft contact, it's very important. That's why we take PFPs so seriously during spring training."
Suárez's cool, calm demeanor often shines through in his fielding attempts while pitching. Often, he looks rather unamused — and certainly unfazed — when a ball is hit back to him, sometimes taking a second to look at the ball before firing, unhurriedly, to first. There are fast tosses and lobs, quick stabs and casual collections. Many times, there's a quick staredown of the seams. Less frequently, there are acrobatic, off-balance throws. No matter the details or circumstances, Suárez makes it all look effortless.
"It's easy, right?" Cora said. "He loves it, too."
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If Suárez has a signature, it's giving the ball a glance between when he collects a grounder and fires it to first. To the outside observer, it looks like the lefty is admiring his glove work. That's not the case, Suárez says. It's just part of his fielding process.
"I've seen the videos. It's fun," he said. "There's a couple videos that show I look at the ball or see the ball, but it's not like I'm actually trying to (stare) at it. It's just making sure I have the ball in my hand, can have a good grip and I can throw it. It's nothing on purpose or anything like that.
"That's nothing that I try to force. It just comes natural. I feel like every time I get a ground ball, I have enough time to rub the ball. You don't want to make a bad throw or anything like that so I try to make sure I make a good throw and get as close as possible."
Suárez is especially proud of the fact he has only made three throwing errors in 762 major league innings.
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"A bad throw to first base, now you have man at second," he said. "Next hitter is a single, it's 1-0. That's the things I'm trying to avoid, trying to make sure I'm good at fielding my position."
Since 2021, when he became a starter for the first time, Suárez has the third-most assists by a pitcher (121) despite having thrown significantly fewer innings than his top competitors in the category. San Francisco 's Logan Webb leads the way with 132 assists in 968 ⅓ innings. Max Fried is next with 126 assists in 798 ⅓ frames. Suárez comes next with 121 despite throwing 694 ⅓ innings, more than 100 fewer than Fried and nearly 275 short of Webb.
Suárez's lower inning totals, the result of minor injuries he has suffered on a year-to-year basis, have also cost him the chance at some significant hardware. Despite his fielding reputation, Suárez has never won a Gold Glove. To be eligible, a pitcher must "have pitched in at least 138 innings by his team's 138th game," according to Rawlings. Suárez, who eclipsed 151 innings only twice in the last five years, came closest to qualifying last season, when he threw 131 innings in the stated 138-game period.
Getting over that hump is a major goal for Suárez, who watched Fried (three times), Webb, Chris Sale and rotation mate Zack Wheeler win the award in the last few seasons.
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"Every day, that's a goal for me," Suárez said. "At the same time, you have to be able to qualify for that. By doing that, that means you're throwing enough innings to help your team win, which is the primary goal. The other things will take care of themselves.
"Hopefully someday, I will be able to win that."
The Red Sox hope to enjoy many Suárez fielding highlights in 2026, because that will mean he's getting easy outs at a high clip. It'll also serve as a reminder of the joy the lefty brings to the game, something Cora has heard about from friends in Philadelphia like Kyle Schwarber and Dave Dombrowski. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow even mentioned Suárez's sense of humor in his opening remarks after signing him last month.
"It's more that I enjoy what I do, I love what I do," Suárez said. "Good days or bad days, I love this game and I love what I do. I'm trying to be happy the whole time."
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