After an unsuccessful pursuit to make changes to their lineup, the Phillies are doubling down on their rotation. They have acquired lefty Jesús Luzardo from the Miami Marlins, the team announced Sunday. With Luzardo, the Phillies could form one of the best — if not the best — rotations in baseball next season.
Luzardo will slot fifth in the initial rotation behind Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez and Ranger Suárez. The Phillies anticipate their top prospect, Andrew Painter, contributing to the big-league team later in the summer. It’s a deep unit.
Miami will receive Starlyn Caba, a 19-year-old shortstop considered one of the better prospects in the Phillies organization, as the headliner in the return. Emaarion Boyd, a speedy A-ball outfielder, is also part of the package.
In addition to Luzardo, the Phillies will receive Paul McIntosh, a 27-year-old minor-league catcher, from the Marlins.
Luzardo, 27, has a career 4.29 ERA. He had his best season in 2023, when he posted a 3.58 ERA and 208 strikeouts in 178 2/3 innings for Miami. But he comes to the Phillies with some red flags; Luzardo made only 12 starts in 2024. He did not pitch after June 13. He was sidelined by left elbow tightness, then suffered a lumbar stress reaction that ended his season.
His acquisition follows an offseason trend by the Phillies, prioritizing players who had down seasons derailed by injuries in 2024. They’re banking on bouncebacks from Luzardo, reliever Jordan Romano and outfielder Max Kepler.
The Marlins had shopped Luzardo last summer during their fire sale but teams balked given his uncertain health status. He’s been the subject of trade rumors all offseason.
“Been able to go through my normal offseason progression — throwing, running, starting to get off the mound,” Luzardo told MLB.com last week. “Feeling really good (with my) elbow, back, whole body, and just really gearing up for spring training and eyeing down that Opening Day to be 100 percent full-go, which for now, everything feels really good, and we are full-go.”
Luzardo has two years of club control remaining. He’s projected to make approximately $6 million in 2025 through salary arbitration, according to MLB Trade Rumors. He’d help the Phillies create a formidable rotation in 2025, then compensate for the potential loss in 2026 of Suárez, who is a free agent after next season. It would allow the Phillies to avoid the soaring free-agent starter market and dedicate 2026 payroll resources to other needs.
With Luzardo in the mix, the Phillies could trade from their rotation surplus this winter by flipping Suárez for a hitter, but indications are they will lean into run prevention. They signed Kepler last week to a one-year, $10 million deal to play left field. Whether he rebounds at the plate remains to be seen, but the Phillies expect above-average defense from him.
The Phillies can create a buffer by hanging onto all five projected starting pitchers. They’d be positioned to better handle an injury to one of those pitchers with the deeper rotation. And, if Luzardo or Suárez hit a wall during the summer, the Phillies could manage their innings.
Suárez could be a candidate to shift into the bullpen — if all of the starters remain healthy — sometime during the summer when Painter is ready.
The Phillies have not yet disclosed their plan for Painter, 21, but team sources said they intend to slow-play Painter’s season. He’ll have anywhere between 80 to 110 innings to use in 2025 — his first full season after Tommy John surgery — and the club wants him available for the later months.
The Phillies have Taijuan Walker still under contract for another two years and $36 million. Walker is on a velocity training program this offseason and the Phillies intend to bring him to spring training. It will be awkward. But the best-case scenario for both sides is Walker shows improved stuff, pitches well enough in Grapefruit League games to interest another club, and the Phillies eat most of the money through a trade sometime in March. He’s not a total sunk cost for the Phillies — at least not yet. If it doesn’t go well in the spring, the Phillies can release Walker.
The price to acquire Luzardo was not insignificant. The Phillies liked Caba, who signed for a $3 million bonus in 2023. He is a skilled shortstop, albeit undersized, who has a chance to be a big-league regular in a few years. Caba, as a teenager playing in the United States for the first time, walked more times (67) than he struck out (49) last season. Boyd, another bigger-bonus signing as an 11th-round draft pick in the 2022 MLB draft, hit .239/.317/.331 in 400 plate appearances at High-A Jersey Shore in 2024. The 21-year-old is athletic with good bat-to-ball skills.
But the Phillies have attempted to balance winning now with retaining many of their top prospects, and they feel this path was the best combination of that. The Phillies will cross over the highest luxury tax threshold, $301 million, and are carrying the second-highest payroll in Major League Baseball. Luzardo, then, is likely the finishing touch to a measured offseason.
GO DEEPER
Phillies minor-league preview: The young hitters to watch, from Starlyn Caba to Justin Crawford
GO DEEPER
Phillies add Max Kepler on 1-year-deal, but offseason picture remains incomplete
GO DEEPER
Phillies’ 1-year, $8.5M deal with Jordan Romano comes with upside and risk
(Photo: Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images)