The Philadelphia Phillies have rolled out some memorable moments and key victories in the first half of the 2025 season. The flip side has shown blemishes on the roster, underwhelming offense at times and the rise and fall of starter Jesús Luzardo. Luzardo was a major acquisition for the Phillies over the offseason, but his inconsistencies have played into the woes that the Phillies have experienced.
The Phillies made a splash by trading for Luzardo in December. The goal was to make the rotation even stronger than it already was, and adding a weapon such as Luzardo had real upside if all went well. There were a lot of positives through his first half, but there are also some real concerns in his struggles. His latest start against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday showed that the Phillies still have some worries with the left-hander, per MLB.com's Paul Casella.
Phillies still not out of trouble after strange struggles by key rotation signing
In his first 11 starts, Luzardo had built a solid Cy Young Award case to challenge the team's ace Zack Wheeler. In those 11 starts, he gave up a total of 16 earned runs, equating to a 2.15 ERA. In the seven starts following, he has averaged a 9.49 ERA with 20 of the 32 runs coming in just two games dating back to May 31.
What once was a Cy Young-hopeful season now sees him at a 7-5 record, 4.44 ERA, 1.469 WHIP and 115 strikeouts in 97 1/3 innings pitched. Per Matt Gelb of The Athletic, Luzardo is also averaging 20 pitches per inning since his apparent pitch tipping debacle.
Luzardo tweaked his mechanics to avoid any spoiling, but now generates extended counts and a split that is even more unsettling when he's throwing from the stretch. Per Gelb, since his June 5 start, Luzardo's severely struggling to put guys away with runners on base (subscription required). During that time, the Phillies have also straddled the .500 mark.
The Phillies are a .500 team (15-15) since June 1 — and that’s even with a 2.80 ERA from its rotation. It’s why every blip causes some consternation. Like Jesús’ Luzardo’s issues pitching from the stretch: https://t.co/hSrt5P1lvx pic.twitter.com/MNPRAuK6mo
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) July 4, 2025
It's tough to see Luzardo struggling the way he is solely because of how spectacular he was a couple of months into the season. Even with Luzardo's slide, the Phillies still rank first in the NL and second overall with a 3.32 ERA. It's also the same pitching group that leads in all of baseball with 12.1 fWAR. The next closest is the Texas Rangers at 9.0 fWAR.
Luzardo will have an uphill battle to find his balance again on the mound, but there is still hope left after his initial start to the season.