Philadelphia Phillies Name Fifth Starter

With starter Ranger Suarez not able to begin the season, the Philadelphia Phillies have decided to give the game five start to free agent signing, and former reliever,  Matt Strahm. 

Rob Thomson says Matt Strahm will start game five for the Phillies. He’ll be at 65-70 pitches (depending on how he feels).

— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) March 26, 2023

The left-hander Strahm is making the transition to starting and will have a limit of 65-70 pitches, said manager Rob Thomson.

The manager added that Strahm will probably also be available for the first game of the season, out of the bullpen for one inning. After that, he'll be able to start game five. 

Thomson said that Strahm's ramp up from reliever to starter this spring has been a tricky balance. He hasn't started with regularity since 2019. On March 17, he started going multiple innings. So, it's a balance of building up quickly while not doing too much (and causing injury) https://t.co/xyBUwA2wPP

— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) March 26, 2023

Strahm had been strictly a reliever for the past three seasons, and for most of his seven-year career, with some starts thrown in here and there over the years. 

Thomson said that stretching him out this spring has been a "tricky balance." It's only 10 days ago that they started having him go more than one inning in spring games. They're attempting to build him up quickly, but also being wary of the potential of injury if he does too much. 

In 25 starts over the course of his career, Strahm has a 5.08 ERA, but a very impressive 111:22 strikeout-to-walk ratio. 

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports