Phillies Should Look to Move Luzardo to Bullpen

Phillies Should Consider Moving Jesús Luzardo to the Bullpen

Overall this season, Luzardo has a 9-5 record with a 4.31 ERA in 22 starts. He also has a 2.98 FIP as well as a 3.18 K/BB rate and a 1.372 WHIP. Luzardo does have a 0.74 HR/9 allowed rate and an 8.5% HR/FB allowed rate this year, both career bests. With that being said, opposing batters are swinging less and making contact more often against Luzardo relative to last season. Opposing hitters have made contact 72.7% of the time this season, which is a career worst for Luzardo. He has also thrown a career-high 52.0% of his pitches in the strike zone, with hitters making contact on 85.0% of those pitches, the most against Luzardo in a season.

What Would Happen to the Starting Rotation

While top prospect Andrew Painter did not make his MLB debut in July, it could be coming soon. At the start of the season, Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said that Painter would debut around July. If he does not debut until on or after August 15, then he would maintain rookie eligibility for the 2026 season. Gelb noted that Aaron Nola is on track to return around that date. Nola’s return will make it easier to move Luzardo from the rotation to the bullpen. It would not be entirely surprising if Luzardo moves to the bullpen with Painter getting called up to be in the rotation around that time. The club has already publicly ruled out the idea of having Painter pitch out of the bullpen.

Postseason and Workload Considerations

Given the current setup of the Phillies’ rotation, Luzardo will likely be in the bullpen if the Phillies make the postseason. With José Alvarado unavailable for the postseason, the Phillies need a left-handed starter to pitch out of the bullpen. Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks are currently the lone left-handed pitchers in the Phillies’ bullpen. If Nola comes back on schedule and everyone else stays healthy, one of Luzardo or Ranger Suárez would be in the Phillies’ postseason bullpen. Luzardo has not pitched more than 180 innings in a regular season and is seemingly starting to see the effects of a heavy workload. This makes it easier to move Luzardo to the bullpen in the postseason and even before that point to manage his innings. And, considering Suárez has extensive postseason experience, keeping him in the rotation is preferable.