Happy Holidays, Phamily—Phils make splash and trade for southpaw Jesus Luzardo
Photo via ESPN
Just a few short days ago, Dave Dombrowski told the media that the Phillies were unlikely to make any significant free-agent signings for the rest of the offseason. Fans on social media were beyond displeased with Dombrowski’s message, as the Phillies have now fallen short of playoff expectations for two years in a row.
Nevertheless, like he does time and time again, Dombrowski surprised Phillies fan with a pre-Christmas trade, acquiring southpaw Jesus Luzardo and minor-league utility player Paul McIntosh from the Miami Marlins.
Luzardo, 27, began his big-league career with the Oakland Athletics in 2019. He made his first major-league start in 2020, the year of his official rookie campaign. With a 4.12 ERA in nine starts that season, Luzardo finished eighth in American League Rookie-of-the-Year voting. But more importantly, he earned a spot in the A’s starting rotation.
During a rough sophomore season, the A’s traded Luzardo to the Marlins right before the trade deadline, where he posted two solid seasons before his lumbar stress reaction that put him on the 60-day injured list in June 2024. After posting a 5.00 ERA in is first 12 starts, he never returned to the mound for the Marlins.
Despite his struggles with injury, Luzardo’s 2022 and ’23 seasons cannot be overlooked. Between these two years, Luzardo posted a 3.48 ERA in exactly 50 starts, striking out 328 opponents in 279 innings of work. Clearly, this is a high-risk move by the Phillies, so the front office is hoping to see the 2022-23 version of the star lefty.
Luzardo is under team control through 2026 and is expected to fill the hole in the rotation previously occupied by Taijuan Walker, whose immense struggles in 2024 had him sent to the bullpen at the beginning of September.
In exchange for Luzardo and McIntosh, the Phillies shipped fourth-ranked prospect Starlyn Caba and twenty-third-ranked prospect Emaarion Boyd to Miami. Caba, a 19-year-old shortstop signed by the Phillies internationally in 2023, ended his 2024 season with the low-A Clearwater Threshers, where he hit just .179 in 26 games. Boyd also had his share of struggles on the Phillies’ farm this season, posting a .646 OPS in 96 games for the high-A Jersey Shore BlueClaws.
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