The Philadelphia Phillies deserve better than this. They dug themselves out of an inescapable early season hole, sacrificing a once-beloved manager (Rob Thomson) in order to cede leadership to a more veteran voice (Don Mattingly). They landed six All-Stars in the Midsummer Classic that they hosted, climbing from the depths of the NL East cellar to the top of the Wild Card race.
Yet we got our first sign of trouble last week, when Jesús Luzardo was scratched from his weekend start after delivering a dominant shutout against the Atlanta Braves, citing shoulder soreness that wouldn't go away. He claimed that it was a precautionary move, and that he would've taken the mound had the stakes of the game been higher.
Well, about that.
Luzardo is heading to the injured list. He isn't eligible to return until the final day of the regular season, at which point all minor-league seasons will have concluded. In effect, the southpaw won't be able to progress via a rehab assignment before returning.
Big development: Phillies are putting Jesús Luzardo on the IL. He was not feeling as well as they expected today. The rest is very much unsure. They are not ruling him out for potential postseason start, Don Mattingly said.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) September 15, 2026
Jesús Luzardo's absence puts onus on other parts of Phillies roster ahead of postseason
All season long, the belief has been that the Phillies stand a chance against any potential playoff opponent because of their rotation. The trio of Luzardo, Christopher Sánchez, and Zack Wheeler matches up favorably against any other group in baseball, and also made Philly a nightmare matchup in the best-of-three Wild Card Round.
Now, one of those load-bearing pillars is out of commission, and we don't have a timeline for when he could return. Mattingly suggested that Luzardo is still in line to make a postseason start, but that's a dubious timeline for someone who has missed extended periods of time with back and elbow injuries in recent years. At best, the southpaw could return for a Game 3 start in the Wild Card Round, but would you really trust him to take the ball in a sudden-death scenario after not pitching for nearly a month?
Of course, the Phillies might have to, since they don't have great rotation depth. Aaron Nola has been far better in the second half (3.08 ERA in 64.1 innings), but opposing batters are still tagging him for a .765 OPS. Andrew Painter has mostly looked good since the start of August, but he's still susceptible to the kind of blow-up outing that could get the Phillies eliminated from the playoffs.
Yet those two -- along with an offense that appears to have found its footing following the trade deadline -- will have to bear a lot of weight in Luzardo's absence. Tim Mayza took over for Luzardo's scratched start in what became a de facto bullpen game, but that wouldn't be an enviable strategy to deploy in October even if the Phillies hadn't lost that game 12-2.
At this point, all we can really do is hope that Luzardo will be well rested and ready to go come the postseason. Even if his absence ultimately costs the Phillies home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs, having him healthy will be the most important factor in keeping the team in the dance.
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