Jesus Luzardo was gearing up for a peaceful morning on the lake when his offseason took an unexpected turn. Just as he was ready to cast his line, he got the call: He’d been traded to the Phillies.
“I was getting ready to go fish,” Luzardo said on a recent Zoom call with reporters. “I actually got the call right before I got out on the boat. I could kind of see the writing on the wall, but it’s always a big change. Your life’s turned upside down. But definitely for a positive impact, I would say. I’m looking forward to it.”
Luzardo’s arrival might just make the Phillies’ rotation the envy of baseball. If the left-hander can return to his 2022-23 form—when he struck out 328 batters over 279 innings with a 3.48 ERA—the Phillies could field a starting five that keeps opposing managers awake at night: Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, and now Luzardo.
But—and this is a Bryce Harper-sized "but"—Luzardo’s health looms as the elephant in the room. Elbow tightness last spring, a stress reaction in his lower back by mid-June, and poof! His 2024 season was over after just 12 starts. That’s why the Phillies didn’t have to part with a blue-chip prospect to acquire him.
"We asked about Luzardo a couple times during the winter just to check in, and then it happened very quickly," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said just before Christmas. “We’ve liked him for a few years. We did very thorough medicals and felt comfortable with where he is.”
For the Phillies, Luzardo represents a calculated gamble—and one in line with their offseason trend of banking on bouncebacks. In addition to Luzardo, they’ve rolled the dice on reliever Jordan Romano and outfielder Max Kepler, two more players whose 2024 seasons were more "Injured List Chronicles" than highlight reels.
Luzardo himself is confident his health woes are behind him. “I feel 100%, I’ve felt 100% the whole offseason,” he said. “The back was really the root of the issue. It bothered me doing a lot of things—tying my shoes, bending over, brushing my teeth. It just got to a point where I couldn’t do it anymore. But the doctors all said the same thing: These things heal really well. Once it happens once, it usually doesn’t happen again.”
The Phillies hope Luzardo’s price tag and potential make him the steal of an increasingly expensive pitching market. With Patrick Sandoval ($18.25M), Frankie Montas ($34M), and Matthew Boyd ($29M) all signing hefty two-year deals despite injuries, Luzardo projects to earn around $6 million in 2025, per MLB Trade Rumors. That’s a significant value for a team that’s already brushing against MLB’s fourth luxury tax threshold.
So while Luzardo’s health remains a question mark, his ceiling—a lefty power arm who could slot in as a No. 2 on most staffs—is undeniable. And if he stays on the mound, the Phillies' rotation may not just be good; it might be historic.
“I’ve been able to get up on the mound, do what I need to do without any pain,” Luzardo said. “Haven’t really thought of it or felt it. Hopefully, it’s something that’s just behind me, and I never have to think about it again.”
For the Phillies, that would be the ultimate catch.
For the Phillies, Luzardo represents a calculated gamble—and one in line with their offseason trend of banking on bouncebacks. In addition to Luzardo, they’ve rolled the dice on reliever Jordan Romano and outfielder Max Kepler, two more players whose 2024 seasons were more "Injured List Chronicles" than highlight reels.
Luzardo himself is confident his health woes are behind him. “I feel 100%, I’ve felt 100% the whole offseason,” he said. “The back was really the root of the issue. It bothered me doing a lot of things—tying my shoes, bending over, brushing my teeth. It just got to a point where I couldn’t do it anymore. But the doctors all said the same thing: These things heal really well. Once it happens once, it usually doesn’t happen again.”
The Phillies hope Luzardo’s price tag and potential make him the steal of an increasingly expensive pitching market. With Patrick Sandoval ($18.25M), Frankie Montas ($34M), and Matthew Boyd ($29M) all signing hefty two-year deals despite injuries, Luzardo projects to earn around $6 million in 2025, per MLB Trade Rumors. That’s a significant value for a team that’s already brushing against MLB’s fourth luxury tax threshold.
So while Luzardo’s health remains a question mark, his ceiling—a lefty power arm who could slot in as a No. 2 on most staffs—is undeniable. And if he stays on the mound, the Phillies' rotation may not just be good; it might be historic.
“I’ve been able to get up on the mound, do what I need to do without any pain,” Luzardo said. “Haven’t really thought of it or felt it. Hopefully, it’s something that’s just behind me, and I never have to think about it again.”
For the Phillies, that would be the ultimate catch.
