Jesús Luzardo never made it to the open market, and the Phillies are the better for it.
That’s the real takeaway from a contract that already looks like a bargain: five years, $135 million starting in 2027, plus a sixth-year team option that could keep him in Philadelphia through 2032. For a starter pitching at Luzardo’s level, that kind of price tag is rare enough to make you do a double take.
The deal looks even sharper when you stack it against the rest of the pitching market. Toronto gave Dylan Cease seven years and $210 million after a 4.55 ERA campaign.
Max Fried landed an eight-year, $218 million deal with the Yankees in 2025 after a 2.86 ERA season, and he was a year older than Luzardo at the time. Blake Snell, the ever-injured ace, got $36.4 million per year from the Dodgers after posting a 3.12 ERA in 2024.
Then there’s Aaron Nola, who got seven years and $172 million from Dave Dombrowski before 2024 despite a 4.46 ERA the previous season.
Luzardo’s contract sits in that same conversation, only at a far friendlier number.
The Phillies had already gotten value from the trade that brought him in. Miami walked away with Emaarion Boyd and Starlyn Caba, with the Marlins believing they had turned a volatile, injury-prone arm into one lottery ticket in Boyd and a consensus top-100 prospect in Caba.
But after the 2025 season, it was clear Caba was not the kind of player you build the future of a franchise around. Luzardo, meanwhile, had shown he could hold up over a 162-game season, with only two shaky starts when the calendar flipped from May to June.
Then came the extension, and it quickly started to feel like the kind of move that can define a front office.
The cautious part of the Luzardo story was always there. He’s dealt with injuries throughout his career: Tommy John surgery in 2016, a lat strain in 2019 just weeks before a planned Major League debut, a broken pinky in 2021 after he slammed his hand on a table while playing video games, a left forearm strain in 2022 that kept him out of the Marlins rotation for 82 days, and a lumbar stress reaction in 2024 that ended his season in June. On paper, there was plenty of reason to worry.
Instead, the Phillies got him healthy, and they got him better.
That’s where the organization deserves real credit, especially the training staff led by Paul Buchheit. Luzardo found another level after pitching coach Caleb Cotham helped him add a sweeper in 2025, and it has since become his best pitch.
In 2026, Baseball Savant graded that sweeper as the best in MLB by run value, worth 23 runs. The next closest was Shohei Ohtani’s at 12.
The payoff showed up in the numbers. Luzardo put together his best season in 2026, finishing with a 2.86 ERA over 179.2 innings. The line could have been even better if shoulder stiffness hadn’t sidelined him for most of September after a complete-game shutout on Labor Day.
That combination of health, performance and pitch development is exactly why the Phillies were so eager to act before Luzardo reached free agency. A starter at this level usually costs far more than $27 million per year. Philadelphia locked him in anyway, and the club now has two of the sport’s best pitchers in their primes on team-friendly contracts.
The same formula keeps showing up in Philadelphia for a reason. Pitchers see the work Cotham and the staff have done, and they see a club that remains in the contender mix.
The results are easy enough to spot. Tim Mayza.
Jeff Hoffman. Matt Strahm.
Alex MacFarlane. Zack Wheeler.
Tanner Banks. And, of course, Jesús Luzardo.
In Other News...
Phillies Face A Costly Jhoan Duran Decision Sooner Than Expected
Jhoan Duran has given the Phillies something they value as much as anything in October stakes: a closer they can trust late and a pitcher who could become expensive quickly. With just one year of team control left before free agency after the 2027 season, the front office is already staring at a decision that rarely gets easier with time. His performance puts him in the same conversation as the sports highest-paid relievers, the kind of company that includes recent contracts for Edwin Daz and Josh Hader.
For Philadelphia, the question is not whether Duran fits, but how high the price might climb if they want to keep him from ever getting to the open market. An extension has not been announced, and the timing matters because upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations could reshape future contract structures. The Phillies may decide sooner rather than later whether they want to chase a record-setting deal for a closer, or risk letting one of their most important arms become a much bigger issue down the road. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Face A New J.T. Realmuto Question They Cant Ignore
J.T. Realmuto has been the steadying force behind the plate for the Phillies for years, and the workload has been as relentless as his reputation suggests. Since 2022, no catcher in Major League Baseball has started more games at the position, and even in a season where he still handled 122 starts, he remained one of the clubs most dependable defenders while the offense slipped a bit from his usual standard.
So when president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Realmuto will catch less often in 2027, it was more than a casual planning note. The Phillies have already committed to him on a three-year deal, but they also know age and wear have to be managed somewhere, and first base could become part of the answer as they try to keep his bat and glove useful deeper into the contract. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Still Have One Roster Problem Before Resting Their Vets
Dave Dombrowski spent part of the offseason talking through where the Phillies still need help, and the answer was pretty familiar for a team that expects to contend again: more pitching depth. The president of baseball operations pointed to both the bullpen and the rotation as areas where Philadelphia could use added support, while also acknowledging that the club will keep looking for ways to build in more flexibility across the roster.
The bigger picture is that the Phillies are trying to balance immediate needs with a longer runway, especially with several players headed toward free agency and veteran workloads something the front office wants to manage more carefully by 2027. There is also some lineup tinkering in the mix, with Bryce Harper expected to stay at first base and Kyle Schwarber a candidate for time there as well as designated hitter, leaving the club with one more roster question to solve before the veteran plan really settles into place. [Read more 🡒]