J.T. Realmuto's comments about Phillies' rotation should have rest of NL East worried

Opening Day is quickly approaching with only weeks to go until the games start to truly count. The Philadelphia Phillies are in the thick of their spring training schedule and have roster spots to finalize before heading north for the start of the regular season.

One thing has made itself known and it's the strength of the Phillies rotation. Spring training outings are limited this early into the grind of a long baseball season, but excitement for more dominant pitching is too much to ignore. It's easy to see what the Phillies have cooking with their pitching and even their All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto sees this staff being second to none, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.

J.T. Realmuto's comments about Phillies' rotation should have rest of NL East worried

The Phillies' pitching staff somehow became even scarier this offseason with the trade for Miami Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo in December. Getting some work behind the plate this spring, Realmuto gave his view on the current set of arms toeing the rubber.

“I feel like we have a No. 1 and maybe four No. 2s,” Realmuto said, per Zolecki.

It's hard to argue with Realmuto and looking at the rest of the NL East, they could easily have the best staff any day of the week. Going starter by starter, Zack Wheeler is the clear No. 1 in the rotation after another second-place finish in the NL Cy Young voting in four seasons.

The combination of Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez and now Luzardo is truly an embarrassment of riches to fill out a rotation. It's a choice of pick your poison one through five now, with Luzardo brought into the fold, per Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Luzardo has sported a 3.78 ERA in 62 starts since 2022 and has a career 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

“Electric stuff,” Realmuto said about Luzardo, per Zolecki. “I’ve had to try to hit him for five, six years now. Finally getting to catch him and work with him on the other side was certainly fun. I kind of saw who he is today. He pounds the strike zone, really attacks the hitters and gets a lot of weak contact. He’s going to be fun to work with.”

The Phillies went all in on Garrett Crochet at last season's trade deadline but came up short. Their pivot to Luzardo this winter is an underrated move with the Phillies' ability to exploit untapped potential. The outcome is still to be determined, but a dazzling spring debut only sparks intrigue for what's to come.

Philadelphia has their work cut out for them in their division, but a staff like this one can silence any lineup and gives the Phillies a legitimate shot against any major league club opposing them.