In what many have considered an underwhelming offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies have pulled off their biggest move ahead of the 2025 season.
Robert Murray of FanSided announced that the Phillies are acquiring left-hander Jesús Luzardo from the Miami Marlins in exchange for their No. 4 prospect Starlyn Caba and No. 23 prospect Emaarion Boyd. The Marlins also are sending 27-year-old catching prospect Paul McIntosh to Philadelphia in the exchange.
Jesús Luzardo trade: Phillies get a steal of a deal for big-time rotation upgrade
This trade certainly has the potential to be the club's biggest move of the winter. Adding Luzardo to an already strong rotation makes the Phillies pitching staff, arguably, the best in baseball.
Luzardo, a third round pick by the Washington Nationals in 2016, is entering his seventh season in the big leagues. His best year was by far his 2023 campaign when he threw 178 2/3 innings with a 3.58 ERA and a 10.5 SO/9 rate.
For his career, the 27-year-old sports a 4.29 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP over 512 Major League innings. His 2022 and 2023 seasons speak to his overall potential, however.
He has been a key piece of the Marlins young rotation. Injuries derailed his 2024 season, but the left-hander is ready to go for spring training. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com noted Luzardo's progress from his injury-plagued season.
"(I've) been able to go through my normal offseason progression: throwing, running, starting to get off the mound," Luzardo said Tuesday morning from the Miami Marlins Foundation's Holiday Wishes community event at loanDepot park, per De Nicola. "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% full-go, which for now, everything feels really good, and we are full-go."
To acquire the Marlins' lefty, the Phillies sent a top five prospect in Caba to Miami. The 19-year-old shortstop is viewed as an excellent defensive player, but he needs to develop into a more pure offensive weapon. Being so young, that is certainly possible and the fact that he has risen so quickly in the Phillies' system speaks to his potential.
Boyd is a speedster, swiping 56 bags in 2023 and 27 last season. His offense, however, has not really taken off. Sending him to Miami for Luzardo was likely just to sweeten the deal and see if they can get anything out of the 21-year-old.
The Phillies did not have to pay as high of a price as perhaps expected to land a player with the potential of Luzardo. Adding a solid pitcher to a rotation already comprised of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez and Ranger Suárez makes this Phillies pitching staff one of the best in all of baseball.
With Taijuan Walker and No. 2 prospect Andrew Painter on the way, the Phillies have a surplus of starting pitching. This is a good problem to have and this perhaps opens the door to moving on from Walker or adjusting his role with the club.
The way that the Phillies have been able to develop pitchers gives hope that Luzardo could return to 2023 form if healthy. He is a perfect middle-of-the-rotation acquisition and immediately makes the club better. Let's see if president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has any other tricks up his sleeve.