The Phillies are buying left-hander Jesús Luzardo from the Marlins, in keeping with a report from Robert Murray of Fansided. In keeping with Craig Mish of the Miami Herald, the Marlins will obtain shortstop prospect Starlyn Caba and outfield prospect Emaarion Boyd within the deal. Matt Gelb of The Athletic provides that the Phillies are receiving minor league catcher Paul McIntosh within the deal alongside Luzardo. The groups have since introduced the commerce.
Luzardo, 27, is coming off one thing of a misplaced season however was among the many most coveted starters out there on the commerce market as lately as final winter. The southpaw made simply 12 begins in 2024 resulting from a lumbar stress response and struggled when he was wholesome sufficient to take the mound with a 5.00 ERA (91 ERA+) in 66 2/3 innings of labor. Whereas Luzardo maintained a stable 8% stroll price, his 21.2% strikeout price was far under his profession norms and his fastball velocity was greater than a tick under the place it was in 2023.
Even with these warts, nevertheless, it’s simple to see why Luzardo can be a pretty addition to the rotation for the Phillies. In 279 innings of labor for the Marlins between 2022 and ’23, Luzardo dominated to the tune of a 3.48 ERA (129 ERA+) with a 3.40 FIP. His 96.7 mph common fastball velocity was close to the highest of the size for left-handed beginning pitchers, and his 28.7% strikeout price ranked eighth amongst starters with at the least 250 innings of labor in that point, sandwiched between Dylan Stop and Shane McClanahan.
Whereas there’s no assure Luzardo will have the ability to recapture that ace-level manufacturing he flashed previous to his injured 2024 season, the Phillies gained’t have to depend on him for front-end manufacturing. As an alternative, Luzardo joins an extremely deep Phillies rotation that already options Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, and Cristopher Sánchez. Even a totally wholesome and efficient Luzardo would slot in because the #2 starter in that rotation between Wheeler and Nola, and even when the southpaw merely pitches to the peripherals (4.23 FIP, 4.33 SIERA) he posted throughout his injury-marred 2024 marketing campaign he’d be a noticeable improve over Taijuan Walker, who pitched to an unpleasant 7.10 ERA in 83 2/3 innings of labor this previous season.
The Phillies have been recognized to have curiosity in including rotation assist this winter, although that was typically anticipated to return within the type of a depth piece who may pitch out of the bullpen or give Walker competitors for the fifth starter spot, not in contrast to the membership’s signing of right-hander Spencer Turnbull final winter. The acquisition of a participant with Luzardo’s expertise and pedigree clearly goes properly past that, nevertheless, and absolutely pushes Walker into a protracted reduction function to open the season assuming the remainder of the rotation is wholesome.
Including Luzardo additionally eases the membership’s long-term want for rotation assist, as he’s underneath crew management for the following two seasons. With Suarez scheduled to hit free company following the 2025 season, it’s potential that the addition of Luzardo permits the Phillies to depend on some mixture of Walker and high prospect Andrew Painter to spherical out their 2026 rotation. That might push the necessity for a further starter off to the 2026-27 offseason, at which level each Walker and Luzardo himself might be eligible at no cost company.
For now, although, Luzardo is a cost-controlled addition to the Phillies’ rotation who figures to lift the group’s already spectacular ceiling significantly. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz initiatives Luzardo for an arbitration wage of simply $6MM in 2025, a determine that pushes the Phillies’ payroll to the $285MM vary and their luxurious tax payroll as much as $304MM per RosterResource. Notably, that pushes them previous the best $301MM tax threshold for subsequent season, at which level the membership is taxed at a 110% price on any overages past $301MM along with their highest decide within the 2026 draft being pushed again ten spots.
When it comes to the precise monetary price, then, bringing Luzardo into the fold figures to price the Phillies one thing nearer to $10.5MM between the southpaw’s wage and the tax invoice that comes with it. It’s an unprecedented degree of spending for the Phillies, and it’s not clear how rather more room the membership must manuever because it seeks to make additional upgrades. Maybe that’s why president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski advised the membership was unlikely to make additional main additions earlier this week, with a swingman for the pitching workers and a bench piece for the lineup highlighted because the membership’s remaining priorities. The addition of Luzardo possible eliminates the necessity for a swingman by pushing Walker into that function, after all.
For the Marlins, the prize on this deal is Caba. Ranked as MLB Pipeline’s #81 prospect within the sport and #54 at Baseball America, Caba simply celebrated his nineteenth birthday earlier this month and seemed stable in complicated league play this yr with a .254/.427/.335 slash line. Whereas he provided little energy, he walked greater than he struck out and stole 37 bases in 45 makes an attempt throughout 225 plate appearances on the degree. Caba was promoted to Single-A down the stretch and struggled badly with a .179/.304/.190 slash line in 115 journeys to the plate, although he nonetheless recorded extra walks (16) than strikeouts (15). Whereas he’s roundly projected for below-average energy by prospecting companies, he’s considered having the potential to be a particular defender at shortstop and his spectacular knack for plate self-discipline ought to give him a stable offensive flooring.
Boyd, in the meantime, was the Phillies’ Eleventh-round decide within the 2022 draft. The 21-year-old hit simply .239/.317/.331 in 400 journeys to the plate on the Excessive-A degree in 2024, although he’s stolen 83 bases over the previous two seasons resulting from elite velocity and is considered a probably plus defender in heart discipline resulting from his wheels. That was sufficient to make him the #23 prospect within the Phillies group, in keeping with Pipeline. That mentioned, Boyd presently presents minimal energy and has a under common hit instrument, although his contact-heavy method and potential to develop into somewhat extra energy as he bodily matures is sufficient to maintain him on the radar as a possible massive league contributor.
Additionally within the deal is McIntosh, who joins Luzardo in heading from Miami to Philadelphia. The 26-year-old isn’t thought of to be a lot of a prospect, having been chosen by the Marlins within the thirty fourth spherical of the 2018 draft. He slashed .246/.340/.385 in 117 video games with the Marlins’ Double-A affiliate in Pensacola this previous season. For the Phillies, McIntosh ought to supply a stable glove-first possibility behind the plate to assist information the membership’s younger pitchers within the higher minors and maybe present some depth behind the membership’s massive league catching corps.
