Phillies Mailbag: Mets, Robertson, Pending Suárez Return

We are back once again with the 97.3 ESPN Phillies Mailbag.  Each week we take your questions and answer them on The Sports Bash with Mike Gill.  Tune in Tuesday afternoons to hear your questions answered on the air.

Are the Mets in the Phillies heads?
~David

The Phillies were eliminated by the New York Mets from the playoffs in 2024.  I'm sure when some of the Phillies players returned to Citi Field for the first time since October 9, when the Phillies were elminated from the playoffs. I can understand that some of those memories might still be there.

But let's face it: these are professional athletes.  I would think that those memories would quickly exit and they be able to focus on the day's game. I think the late-game surge shows that they were unincumbered.

I think last night's big story was twofold: The Phillies bullpen struggles and that the Phillies struggle against Tylor Megill.

After last night's game, the Phillies offense is batting a collective .175 against Megill, with an OPS of just .510.

And after Aaron Nola finished the sixth inning, getting past the long Juan Soto foul ball, I thought he would have been done for the night.   However, with the bullpen struggling, the Phillies tried to stretch Nola into the seventh.

That did them in, and Jose Ruiz continued to have a tough 2025.

The Phillies will need to get the right-handed side of their bullpen right for them to win some of these games that are getting away from them, against the Mets or anyone else.

David Robertson is a Free Agent and had a nice 2024. Why is he not in the Phillies bullpen this evening?
~Jesse

Former Phillies reliever David Robertson indeed had a nice 2024.   He pitched in 68 games, going 3-4 with a 3.00 ERA.  Opponents batted .202 off of him.  Robertson sounds like someone who could help the Phillies bullpen.

My big question is, does he really want to play in 2025?

Robertson declined his $7 million option with the Texas Rangers for 2025.  Now 40 years old, he has reached an age where few major league players reach.

There are five active players who have passed the 40 year-old mark: Justin Verlander of the San Francisco Giants, Charlie Morton of the Baltimore Orioles, Yuli Gurriel of the San Diego Padres, Max Scherzer of the Toronto Blue Jays and Justin Turner of the Chicago Cubs.

There has been little chatter about Robertson and other teams this summer.

So does Robertson want to continue pitching?  Would he do a Roger Clemens-style June return to baseball?  (Robertson was drafted by the Yankees the same month when Clemens returned in 2006).

If he does want to play, I agree he could be a good option for the Phillies.

How will the Phillies set the rotation and bullpen when Ranger Suárez returns?
~Lisa

It was a nice sight on Sunday when Phillies starter Ranger Suárez joined the club in Philadelphia.   He threw a bullpen session, and will continue his rehab this week presumably at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, since Double-A Reading is on the road.  That could mean he is getting close.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson said on Sunday that he thinks that Suárez will need two more starts before joining the Phillies.

The obvious move would be that Suárez returns to the starting rotation and Taijuan Walker will join the Phillies bullpen.

Walker has been doing mostly well in 2025.  Perhaps he could provide some help from the right-handed side; as previously mentioned, the Phillies could use that.

But let us remember that Walker left Saturday's game early, as a precaution after feeling stiffness in his shoulder.   That's a reminder that anything could happen.   But getting Suárez back would be a big boost to any major league pitching staff.