Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jesús Luzardo has been diagnosed with a mild left flexor muscle strain, MLB.com's Christina De Nicola reported Monday afternoon.
Luzardo experienced discomfort in his throwing elbow on Thursday and was ultimately scratched from his scheduled start against the Washington Nationals on Friday. The Marlins placed their ace on the 15-day injured list with left elbow tightness later that day.
As scheduled, Luzardo played catch Monday. While there still isn't a concrete timeline on Luzardo's return to Miami's rotation, footage of him throwing Monday certainly eased the concerns of fans who were initially fearful of his injury.
Luzardo last appeared in a game on April 20 against the Chicago Cubs. He allowed two earned runs in 6.0 innings that day, coming off the back of two starts in which he gave up 12 runs over 9.2 innings.
Through five starts in 2024, Luzardo is 0-2 with a 6.58 ERA, 1.423 WHIP, 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings and a -0.1 WAR.
Luzardo finished eighth in AL Rookie of the Year voting back in 2020, when he was still a member of the Oakland Athletics. He got dealt to the Marlins in 2021 and emerged as a top-of-the-rotation starter in 2022.
Between 2022 and 2023, Luzardo went 14-17 with a 3.48 ERA, 1.151 WHIP, 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a 6.0 WAR.
The 26-year-old Luzardo entered 2024 as the Marlins' de facto ace. Miami's pitching staff ranks 27th in all of baseball with a 5.01 ERA, which is a major reason why the team sits in last place in the NL East at 6-23.
Luzardo could be back within the next two weeks, though, at which point he could potentially start to turn things around and lead the Marlins to some much-needed wins.
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