Phillies to receive draft compensation for Ranger Suárez signing

The Phillies will get a draft pick back as compensation for Ranger Suárez’s departure.

Suárez, who reportedly signed a five-year deal with the Boston Red Sox, rejected a $22.05 million qualifying offer from the Phillies earlier this offseason. As a luxury tax payer, the Phillies will receive a compensatory draft pick after the fourth round of the 2026 MLB Draft.

But they might not actually get to keep that pick if they sign Bo Bichette. Bichette rejected a qualifying offer from the Toronto Blue Jays. The Phillies’ penalty for signing a qualifying free agent is the loss of their second- and fifth-highest selections in next year’s draft along with $1 million in international bonus pool money.

The Phillies have not signed an outside free agent with a qualifying offer attached since Trea Turner in 2022.

After keeping all of their picks over the last couple years, the Phillies have seemingly decided that Bichette, 27, is worth the splurge. The Phillies reportedly met with Bichette’s camp over Zoom on Monday.

It’s the first time since the current qualifying offer system was implemented in 2012 that the Phillies lost a player they extended a qualifying offer to. Jeremy Hellickson accepted a qualifying offer from the team in 2016. J.T. Realmuto (2021), Aaron Nola (2023) and Kyle Schwarber (2025) were all extended qualifying offers, rejected them and came back to the Phillies on new deals.

Under the old system, the Phillies received the 39th overall pick in 2011 after losing Jayson Werth to the Washington Nationals in free agency. With that pick, they selected outfielder Larry Greene Jr. out of Berrien High School in Georgia. Greene was out of professional baseball by the age of 22.