Jesus Luzardo Injury Exposes Phillies’ Pitching Imbalance

Veteran Jose Urquidy, whom the Phillies just claimed from the Chicago White Sox, will take Luzardo’s spot to hopefully eat as many innings as possible to keep the others fresh.

While Urquidy is just a short-term solution and the playoffs are all but locked up at this point for Philadelphia, the question of the front office's preparedness is in doubt. The No. 26-ranked prospect pipeline in MLB is devoid of big-league-ready pitching and presents a long-term issue of where future depth will come from.

This season has luckily seen the best-case scenario and then some for the starting rotation. Two Cy Young candidates and the continuation of late-career Wheeler’s excellence is all any team could ask for.

Along with Nola and Painter, the five-man rotation has combined to throw nearly 60% of Philadelphia’s innings. It puts into perspective how ridiculously clean the Phillies’ pitching bill of health has been until this sudden scare.

What this might prompt is an offseason change of plans. Last offseason revolved heavily around keeping core offensive pieces and less so around upgrading what was already a strength in pitching. Now, Dave Dombrowski and the front office could reevaluate that notion, opting to splurge on higher-end depth starters or restocking the farm.

In the end, this sudden exposure in pitching depth reflects the boom-and-bust nature of Dombrowski’s management that he’s defined by. While ensuring a roster of high-end talent, the backups are often a blind spot and are overlooked.

The timing of this injury is troubling. Losing Luzardo when he was pitching at the peak of his abilities puts tons of responsibility on Sanchez and Wheeler. If there is one silver lining, though, it’s that, in hindsight, October baseball is nearly clinched, and it didn’t happen during a more vulnerable point in the season.

Sign up for our free newsletter to receive the latest news and updates!