As they continued to roll into 2026, the first bit of offseason housekeeping the Philadelphia Phillies had to tend to was the MLB arbitration deadline on Thursday. With Jesús Luzardo entering a contract year in his second season with the Phillies, the left-hander and the team agreed to an $11 million contract for 2026.
It's an agreement that not only avoids arbitration but that might help generate some good will between the two sides. With 2026 being Luzardo's final of two years in Philadelphia, the front office will no doubt be wanting to negotiate a contract extension. Barring that, they'd at least like some semblance of an upper hand when Luzardo heads to free agency.
Phillies' $11 million agreement with Jesús Luzardo could help set up contract extension
MLB Trade Rumors projected the 28-year-old Luzardo to earn $10.4 million in arbitration this winter. So, the Phillies offering more, even if it's a ceremonial $600,000, shows how much they value Luzardo as part of the rotation and are perhaps eyeing a long-term partnership.
Remember, it was two winters ago that the Phillies had an arbitration squabble with third baseman Alec Bohm over $600,000. It was a stalemate that the team eventually ended up losing as Bohm won his arbitration case, earning a $4 million salary in 2024.
After being acquired from the Miami Marlins last offseason, Luzardo did everything the Phillies could have asked for in his first year in red pinstripes. He went 15-7 with a 3.92 ERA and a career-high 216 strikeouts in 183 2/3 innings, also a new high watermark.
Heading into 2025, Luzardo was coming off an injury-plagued 2024 campaign and had only thrown more than 175 innings once in his career. Putting together another healthy season in 2026, with similar results as this past year will guarantee him a hefty pay raise in free agency.
Fans have already been chomping at the bit for an extension. Unfortunately, only time will tell if the Phillies will be able to work something out or if they'll have to bid with 29 other MLB teams for Luzardo's continued services next offseason.
The Phillies had until Thursday to come to agreements on contracts with all seven of their remaining arbitration-eligible players. In addition to Luzardo, Alec Bohm ($10.2 million), Jhoan Duran ($7.5 million), Bryson Stott ($5.9 million) and Tanner Banks ($1.2 million) all managed to avoid heading to arbitration according to reports, agreeing on contracts for the 2026 season.
At the time of writing, information about Edmundo Sosa and Brandon Marsh had yet to be reported. The Phillies had already agreed to contracts with catchers Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchán earlier in the offseason.