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Phillies Blockbuster Offseason Trade Considered Best Move in Baseball

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sam Bernardi | Last updated May 29, 2025 6:30 PM ET

For all of the marquee MLB trades this offseason, such as Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs, Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees, and Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox, one deal that slightly flew under the radar has garnered national attention.

Jesús Luzardo, whom the Philadelphia Phillies acquired from the Miami Marlins for prospects SS Starlyn Caba (No. 4 in the Phillies organization at the time) and OF Emaarion Boyd (No. 23), has been a godsend in his first campaign with the club.

MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman had this to say on Luzardo:

.@JonHeyman says the Jesús Luzardo to Phillies trade was the best from last offseason. Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/aDt0HvkTHD
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 29, 2025

“This trade is just spectacular for the Phillies,” Heyman added.

Spectacular might be an understatement as the 27-year-old Luzardo is on pace for his by-far best MLB season. He debuted with the then-Oakland Athletics in 2019 but did not become a fixture on Big League staffs until he joined the Marlins in the back half of the 2021 season.

Luzardo carried a career 4.29 ERA, 3.97 FIP, and 559 strikeouts to 180 walks over 512 innings coming into 2025. Those are respectable numbers, especially with the lack of team success surrounding Luzardo, but nowhere near what the Phillies have received so far this season.

Luzardo is currently 5-0 with a 2.15 ERA, a 2.25 FIP, and 77 strikeouts to 19 walks. He also leads all National League pitchers in WAR (3.0) and trails only Kris Bubic of the Kansas City Royals (3.1) among qualified starters. Plus, the only hitters above Luzardo are Aaron Judge (4.2), Pete Crow-Armstrong (3.2), and Alex Bregman (3.1).

Philadelphia will have to make some difficult decisions should they call up No. 1 prospect RHP Andrew Painter this summer, considering they already have a surplus of starters.

But, with Luzardo pitching this well, he has all but solidified his spot in the rotation for months to come.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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