Filthy new weapon could make Phillies’ trade for Jesús Luzardo look even better

Perhaps the most notable move that the Philadelphia Phillies made this past offseason was acquiring Jesús Luzardo from the Miami Marlins at the end of December. The trade solidified the fifth spot in the club's starting rotation and made the staff even stronger than in 2024.

The left-hander had a down year last season, mainly due to injuries. In his previous two seasons, however, the 27-year-old showed some promise. The Phillies were hoping to get the healthy version of the pitcher and tap into some of that talent when they made the trade.

The organization could not have been happier when Luzardo made his Phillies debut on Saturday in Washington against the Nationals. The early returns did not disappoint.

Jesús Luzardo's new sweeper could make the Phillies' trade look even better

Luzardo impressed in his first start of the season. The newest addition to the club's rotation threw 95 pitches over five innings of work. In that span, he retired 11 Nationals hitters on strikes. He allowed five hits and walked two while surrendering two earned runs that came in to score as Keibert Ruiz launched a two-run home run in the second inning.

Luzardo's strikeout rate was the most impressive aspect of his inaugural Phillies start.

What is interesting is that Luzardo — a hard-throwing lefty who has mainly relied on his fastball, slider and changeup in the past — added a new pitch to his repertoire: a sweeper. The pitch proved to be a real difference-maker in Saturday's outing as the new Phillies starter struck out five batters with the new pitch.

Luzardo toyed with the new pitch this spring but did not necessarily look at it as a primary pitch early on. Well, on Saturday, he ended up throwing the sweeper 21 times, which came in second only to his four-seamer, which he threw 31 times. Entering the contest, even Luzardo didn't know how often he would use the new pitch, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.

“We go more based off how it’s feeling today,” Luzardo said, per Zolecki. “It felt really good, so we leaned on it a little bit more. It’s just another way of getting guys out. Different swing types, different profiles for a hitter. It just fits into the game plan a little bit in different ways than I would use my normal slider. Just finding different avenues of getting guys out.”

If Luzardo can fully utilize his four-seam fastball, his slider, and the sweeper, while mixing in the occasional changeup and sinker, his arsenal could be deadly against lefties and righties alike.

It's uncommon to strike out 11 batters in any given outing, so expectations should be tempered, but if the left-hander can come close to replicating his first outing with the Phillies, then he will be viewed by many as much more than a fifth starter.

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