The Philadelphia Phillies whittled their magic number all the way down to three after Sunday’s resounding victory over the New York Mets, and now appear poised to reach the postseason for the fifth consecutive year. As they look ahead to the Wild Card series that awaits them, the most glaring hole in their armor is a dumpster fire of a bullpen that has thrown away far too many winnable games. However, they may have one trick up their sleeve in injured ace Jesús Luzardo.
Luzardo went down just over a week ago with shoulder stiffness in his throwing arm, a diagnosis that could lead to anything from a few days of rest to a career-altering injury. So far so good, as nothing serious seems to have come of it and Luzardo continues to project confidence that he’ll be able to return in time for the postseason.
However, there’s a big difference between returning in exactly the same excellent form and simply getting back on the field in some manner. The latter seems more likely, as Luzardo will not have the benefit of a minor league rehab assignment and will be racing against the clock to make it back before his team is bounced from the playoffs. As such, it may be wise for the Phillies to consider utilizing Luzardo out of the bullpen rather than the starting rotation in October.
The 28-year-old has been arguably the club’s best starting pitcher this year, posting a phenomenal 2.87 ERA and punching out 221 batters over 178 ⅔ innings of work. He was most likely going to be the game one starter for the Wild Card series, but that plan has probably gone out the window in light of his shoulder issues.
Luckily, the Phillies have some solid options behind him. Zack Wheeler has put up a sub-3.00 ERA in 26 starts this season, while veteran Aaron Nola has bounced back spectacularly from a brutal first half with a miniscule 2.15 ERA since the beginning of August. All-Star Game starter Cristopher Sánchez has scuffled a bit in recent weeks, but looked like his old self in Sunday’s game. Heck, even Andrew Painter has managed to salvage what looked like a lost rookie season after coming back to the majors in late July.
Simply put, the Phillies’ rotation has a chance to withstand the loss of Luzardo. Not that they want to, but trotting out a trio of Wheeler, Sánchez and Nola (with Painter making the occasional start) should strike fear into opposing offenses. The same cannot be said for the Phillies’ bullpen.
The relief corps has been an issue all year, as formerly reliable options Orion Kerkering and José Alvarado have completely faceplanted, while free agent splash Brad Keller is lost for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Even breakout right-hander Jonathan Bowlan has been leaking oil lately. Outside of top-tier closer Jhoan Duran, the only reliable reliever has been rookie Alex McFarlane, whose 16 major league appearances thus far don’t exactly constitute an established track record.
Jesús Luzardo's shoulder injury may force the Phillies to use him as fireman with the season on the line
That’s where Luzardo’s unfortunate injury could become a blessing in disguise. If he is able to make it back onto the field for the Wild Card Series, the Phillies would certainly want to limit his workload. What better way to do that than in short stints out of the bullpen? It’s not a completely foreign concept to him, as he’s made 16 regular season relief appearances in his career, and performed admirably out of the pen in the ill-fated final game of last year’s divisional round.
What if the Phillies were able to use their top-flight southpaw as a dynamic reliever, putting out fires when the team needed him most? It’s easy to imagine Luzardo coming into pressure-packed moments and carving up opposing lefties with his wipeout slider à la Andrew Miller back in 2016.
Is that the most optimal usage of an elite starting pitcher who’s destined to receive Cy Young Award votes at season’s end? Absolutely not. However, it may just be the best course of action available to the Phillies at the moment. If Luzardo isn’t ready to handle the high-stress workload of an ace when he returns, the Phillies could do a lot worse than adding a dynamite Swiss Army knife to their sieve-like bullpen.
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