Ranger Suárez's first rehab appearance for the Clearwater Threshers went well Thursday as he tossed three shutout innings against the Daytona Tortugas, the Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.
The former All-Star struck out all three batters he faced in the first inning, and recorded four K's overall across a trio of frames:
Ranger Suarez strikes out the side in the 1st inning of his rehab start! pic.twitter.com/f7Ly2uztZ4
Suárez allowed just one hit in the outing as well.
Thursday was the first of what's likely to be multiple rehab outings for Suárez, who is working his way back from his third stint on the injured list with a back injury in four seasons. He only pitched five innings in Spring Training before the back injury forced the Phillies to press pause on his ramp up. So not only is he coming back from an injury, but Suárez is also still trying to build up.
Suárez, 29, is in a contract year, and certainly wants to get back as soon as possible. Obviously, the Phillies will welcome him back when he's ready, but Taijuan Walker hasn't allowed a run over his first 10 2/3 innings pitched this season, so they don't need to rush Suárez.
In addition to Suárez, the Phillies expect that No. 1 prospect Andrew Painter will join an already-loaded starting rotation at some point later this season. Painter will start for Clearwater Friday, with MLB.com's Todd Zolecki saying that the expectation is that the righty will throw two innings and/or 35 pitches. Painter is returning from Tommy John surgery, which sidelined him for the entirety of the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The Phillies have set July as a loose target date for when Painter could make his MLB debut.
