Surprise Landing Spots for Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander and Top MLB Free Agents

Age: 34
2025 Stats: 159 G, 657 PA, 49 HR, 4 SB, .228 AVG, .298 OBP, .526 SLG
2025 Teams: Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners
His Surprise Fit: Philadelphia Phillies
If one had to guess at this point, Eugenio Suárez will either head back to Seattle on a club-friendly deal or join the Pittsburgh Pirates on something more lucrative. The Boston Red Sox are also somewhere in there, but seem less enthusiastic.
The Phillies, meanwhile, just missed out on signing Bo Bichette as a free agent. That he, Luis Robert Jr. and Freddy Peralta joined the New York Mets in rapid succession only added insult to injury.
The heat is on the Phillies to do something in response, and signing Suárez is arguably the best play they can make. He’s one of the best pure power hitters in the sport, so he and Citizens Bank Park would figure to be a dream matchup.
To wit, Statcast estimates that Suárez would have hit 54 home runs if he’d been a Phillie for the whole year in 2025.
The Phillies are already in the “Cohen tax” region of the luxury tax after re-signing J.T. Realmuto, so the possibility that they’re done with big moves may be real.
This said, doing a $15-20 million-per-year deal with Suárez could be offset by a trade of Alec Bohm, who is due to make $10.2 million in his final season of arbitration-eligibility.




