The Major League Baseball arbitration deadline has passed, and with it comes news that the Philadelphia Phillies have settled on a contract with their newest acquisition. As the 1:00 p.m. ET deadline ticked away, FanSided's Robert Murray broke the news that the Phillies and left-hander Jesús Luzardo settled at $6.225 million for the 2025 season. The agreement ensures that the two sides will avoid the arbitration process.
Source: Jesús Luzardo, Phillies settle at $6.225 million, avoiding arbitration.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) January 9, 2025
Phillies pay Jesús Luzardo more than his projected arbitration salary
Luzardo, 27, was projected by MLB Trade Rumors to receive $6 million in arbitration this winter. The Phillies acquired Luzardo, along with minor league catcher Paul McIntosh, from the Miami Marlins in a late-December trade. The Phillies sent No. 4 prospect shortstop Starlyn Caba and No. 23 prospect outfielder Emaarion Boyd to the Marlins in exchange.
Luzardo has a 4.29 career ERA but is coming off an injury-plagued season that saw him make just 12 starts. Between 2022 and 2023, he posted a 3.48 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with a 6.1 fWAR. He has one more year of arbitration next offseason before becoming a free agent following the 2026 season.
While he dealt with a minor elbow issue last year, his biggest injury concern was a lumbar stress reaction that ended his season in mid-June. The Phillies weren't scared off by the season derailed by injury and Luzardo himself has said that he's fully healthy and ready for spring training.
“I feel 100 percent,” Luzardo said during a Zoom call with media, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. “I’ve felt 100 percent the whole offseason. Yeah, last year definitely the back was the root issue and the problem. And now that we’ve got that all figured out, thankfully, everything is back to normal.”
The Phillies have five other players who are arbitration-eligible this offseason. At this time, we don't know the status of left-hander Ranger Suárez, reserve infielder Edmundo Sosa, third baseman Alec Bohm, outfielder Brandon Marsh and second baseman Bryson Stott. The Phillies had already previously agreed to contracts for 2025 with reliever José Ruiz ($1.225 million) and backup catcher Garrett Stubbs ($925K).
Players who didn't settle with the team by the 1:00 p.m. ET deadline on Thursday will head to the arbitration process, which will take place in February. There's still a chance that the team and players could come to an agreement before the hearings, although that is unlikely at this point.