The Phillies are inching toward another postseason berth, and the biggest question hanging over their rotation is Jesús Luzardo’s status.
Philadelphia sits at 86-70 and holds the No. 6 seed in the National League, with the club four games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks and one game behind both the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs in the race for the higher Wild Card spots. If the Phillies get in, they’ll be headed for the best-of-three Wild Card round, where Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler would seem to be the obvious arms at the front of the plan.
But Luzardo has been the club’s sharpest starter over the past few months, and his injury has changed the conversation. The left-hander landed on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation retroactive to Sept. 12 after what appears to have been an issue that surfaced following his Labor Day start against the Atlanta Braves. Before going down, he posted a 1.65 ERA with 124 strikeouts over his 14 most recent starts.
On Tuesday, Phillies manager Don Mattingly gave a small but important update, saying Luzardo is “trending in the right direction.” Tim Kelly of OnPattison reported that Luzardo played catch on both Monday and Tuesday, though there is still no date set for a bullpen session.
That leaves his postseason role very much up in the air. The Wild Card round runs from Sept. 29 through Oct. 1, which makes a start in that series seem doubtful. A bullpen role, though, may still be in play.
If the playoffs began today, Philadelphia would draw the Braves in Atlanta for the Wild Card round. A win there would send the Phillies to face the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road.
If Luzardo can’t go, the Phillies may need another option for Game 3. Aaron Nola would likely be the next man up, and while his season totals aren’t especially strong, he’s been rolling lately.
In two starts against the Braves earlier in September, Nola threw 13 ⅓ innings and allowed just three runs. That kind of stretch could make him a real option if Luzardo remains unavailable.
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