Red Sox's Alex Cora Makes Surprising Ranger Suarez Admission After Second Bad Start
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The Boston Red Sox signed Ranger Suarez to a five-year, $130 million contract this offseason, but he has not been great so far.
Through two starts, Suarez has given up eight runs in 8 1/3 innings of work. That is not what the Red Sox and the team's fan base were expecting from a player who could've been an ace on many teams. After his rough outing against the San Diego Padres, even Alex Cora admitted he was surprised.
“Yes, to be honest with you,” Cora said when asked if he was surprised by Suarez's start to the season. “Obviously, it was different for him in spring training. He didn’t pitch that much in the (World Baseball Classic), but he’ll be the first one to say there’s no excuse. He was making good pitches today and he didn’t get hit hard in that (fourth) inning. They made adjustments, especially on the first pitch, got their hits, and then that happened.”
There are plenty of factors at play when it comes to Suarez's early woes. For one, he missed a chunk of spring training and was not even fully built up when the season started. Second, the fact that he is pitching on a new team for the first time in his career could be impacting him as well.
He needs to settle in, and perhaps the third time through the rotation will be when things start to look better. He had a 3.38 ERA in eight seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and a 3.33 ERA in the last two seasons. Knowing that, the Red Sox are not wrong to be surprised by his current numbers.
However, Suarez was an All-Star in 2024 and was snubbed from the All-Star Game last season. Eventually, the Red Sox's investment in him will pay off.
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