The Philadelphia Phillies have been extremely careful about their additions so far this offseason. With a bulging payroll, massive multi-year free agent contracts worth hundreds of millions are out of the question. Adding reliever Jordan Romano ($8.5 million) and outfielder Max Kepler ($10 million) showed just how much of a budget tightrope the front office is walking.
After signing Kepler, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said there wouldn't be any other impact signings. While that was tough for fans to hear, he never said anything about trades. The Phillies promptly went out and traded for left-handed starter Jesús Luzardo.
Jesús Luzardo contract details: How much will Phillies have to pay in arbitration?
Now nosing over the $301 million fourth luxury tax threshold after adding Luzardo, the Phillies’ projected 2025 payroll sits at $304.4 million, according to FanGraphs. But how much of that is due to Luzardo, who the Phillies acquired from the Miami Marlins on Sunday?
Giving up a couple of prospects for the 27-year-old starter isn’t a big deal considering Luzardo still has two years of arbitration eligibility before he’ll hit free agency after the 2026 season. After winning $2.45 million in arbitration in 2023, he avoided the process last winter by signing a $5.5 million deal for 2024.
What is Luzardo projected to make in 2025? That depends on who you ask. MLB Trade Rumors projects Luzardo to get a $6 million salary in arbitration this winter. Cot’s values him a little higher, with a $6.5 million arbitration salary projection.
He joins five other Phillies players who have yet to settle ahead of arbitration. Fellow left-handed starter Ranger Suárez projects to earn an $8.9 million salary. Third baseman Alec Bohm projects for $8.1 million. Second baseman Bryson Stott is due $3.5 million. Outfielder Brandon Marsh projects for $3 million. Reserve infielder Edmundo Sosa projects to make $2.5 million.
Adding Luzardo was definitely a budget-conscious approach to upgrading the starting rotation, considering the prices of free agents. Top starting pitchers are signing for well over $20 million per year right now.
After losing out on the Garrett Crochet trade earlier this offseason, pivoting to Luzardo was a slick move by Dombrowski. Crochet, who the Phillies had been chasing since the trade deadline, is a couple of years younger than Luzardo and is due around $3 million in arbitration, also with two years of team control left.
It will be fascinating to see how the two traded lefties compare over the next two seasons. If Luzardo performs as he did in 2022-23, the trade will be more than worth his arbitration salaries.