Phillies newly-acquired starter Jesús Luzardo chatted with the Philadelphia beat over Zoom on Monday. The southpaw finished the 2024 season on the injured list but indicated he’s going into next season at full strength.
“I feel 100%. I’ve felt 100% the whole offseason,” Luzardo said. “Last year, the back was really the problem. Now that we’ve got that all figured out, thankfully everything’s back to normal.” He added that he has had a typical offseason, so it seems fair to assume he’ll be a full go for Spring Training. A lumbar stress reaction sent Luzardo to the 15-day IL in the second half of June. It didn’t take long before Miami transferred him to the 60-day injured list. The Marlins shut him down for good in early August.
Luzardo’s final season with the Marlins was a disappointment. The 27-year-old lefty struggled to an even 5.00 earned run average over 12 starts. He struck out a slightly below-average 21.2% of batters faced. Luzardo missed a couple weeks early in the year with elbow tightness, but the back proved much more problematic.
A fully healthy version of Luzardo is a #2 or #3 caliber starter. He showed that upside in 2023. Luzardo turned in a 3.58 ERA while striking out 28.1% of opponents across 178 2/3 innings. Luzardo averaged nearly 97 MPH on his heater and missed plenty of bats with both his slider and changeup. His 14.1% overall swinging strike rate ranked sixth among qualified starting pitchers.
Philadelphia sent highly-regarded shortstop prospect Starlyn Caba to Miami as the headliner of the Luzardo trade. A return to his ’23 form would arguably give Philadelphia the best front five in MLB. He’ll slot behind Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola and alongside Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez in Rob Thomson’s staff. The depth isn’t great, though the Phils have added Joe Ross on a $4MM free agent deal to join Taijuan Walker as candidates for swing roles.
Pitching prospect Andrew Painter could eventually be a factor, but that won’t happen within the season’s first month or two. Philadelphia is being very cautious with the touted 21-year-old righty, whom they’ve seemingly kept untouchable in trade talks. Painter is working back from July 2023 Tommy John surgery. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters (including Matt Gelb of the Athletic) last week that the Phils won’t have Painter pitch in games during Spring Training. He’ll continue throwing on the side in the spring and will subsequently need to build into game shape in the minors.
Painter made six appearances and tallied 15 2/3 innings in last year’s Arizona Fall League. That’s his only game action since the conclusion of the 2022 season. The Phillies will need to keep a close watch on his workload and certainly envision Painter as a factor in a potential pennant race. It’s understandable they’d prefer to start him slowly and concentrate on saving his bullets for what they hope will be another playoff push. That’s especially true now that Luzardo is in the fold, allowing them to open the season with both Ross and Walker in the ’pen if their top five arms are healthy.
I hope he’s right because my word has he been hyped. Enough of being in the rough; time for this crazy diamond to shine on!
This Painter better be Picasso.
ISWYDT.
I am sure the Phillies will get their Monet’s worth.
I understand Painter made quite an Impressionism on the scouts at the AFL.
You’re not being a realist about this.
I saw Painter pitch in the minors the year before he went to ST and then was injured. He was only 19. Watched his warmups from ten feet away, and then sat behind the plate for the game.
I have been to hundreds of minor league and a similar amount of major league games over the decades, and never saw a kid that young with so much talent PLUS such a mature process. The mechanics were simple and repeatable, and the velo was effortless. He has the size and the frame to be a stud. The fastball was already an elite major league offering and his command was spot on. Change was a work in progress at that point, but the curve was nasty and the slider also major league ready (although I think that they have refined that post-surgery).
I am thrilled that they did not trade him as he has the tools, the talent and the work ethic / maturity to be an ace for a long time.
Not much pressure on him in Philly considering he could be their #5.
Exactly, if he was relied to be a #2 starter he would be a disappointment. But as the Phillies #5 he’s gonna do well
I dont think they are putting any pressure on painter..per matt gelb dombrowski stated you should not expect to see him in philly until julyish…that was said a week ago
Von purple Hayes, I continue to argue with dodgers fans. Phillies starting staff is far superior to the blown out arms in tinseltown. So deep. Painter is a 2 on some lowly staffs. Snell I hope they get a 100 innings and a prayer.
I don’t think Painter will be a real factor this year. He may make an impact in July or something, and if viable he’ll be a playoff bullpen option, but the Phillies will take their time with him. I think Wheeler, Sanchez, Nola, Suarez, Luzardo is one of the best rotations in baseball. The Dodgers also have one of the best as well. If the Dodgers have an edge, it’s a slight one. The Dodgers are a better team overall though.
Phils’ Painter named Arizona Fall League Pitcher of the Year. Not a bad start.
Lefties are extra valuable. I’m sure PHI did their due diligence and he had to pass a physical. Seems like a good gamble. Very competitive division and not easy to grab a WC.
Gives PHI depth and options in case of injury.Players out of options leaving as a FA. You really can’t keep them all. Painter coming soon but you’d rather not rush him.
Always hard to trade a top prospect or 2.
Somehow, Someway PHI will eventually be able to trade off a player or 2 and probably prefers to get prospects back – bolster the minor leagues
I like having Luzardo in our rotation. Three lefties are a luxury. A luxury that should serve them well. Would like to see the Phillies not use them at 3, 4 and 5. Maybe put one between Wheeler and Nola to break things up a bit.
I think it makes sense to move Nola to the number 3 spot at this point, for exactly the reasons you mention.
Also, don’t wanna see Taijuan Walker again. Way overrated. A bad signing by Dombro. Also puzzled why they let Hays walk away. Was only gonna make $6 million in arbitration. Not in love with Max Kepler.
I think Kepler for Hays was an even swap statistically. They know Hays is injury prone and there might be some news that wasn’t made public about a chronic condition.
Did he give any insight as to what his next injury will be?
Luzardo pitched in a park favorable to pitchers.Always a history of injuries. He needs to be on strict pitch counts and babied. Phillies could score alot for him and he could win some games. I dont think he can go 178 innings. But you look at Tyler Glasnow another injury guy who got a monster Dodgers contract. Definitely worth the trade for the Phils.