Philadelphia Phillies Settle With Newly Acquired Left-Hander, Avoid Arbitration

The Philadelphia Phillies settled with the left-hander ahead of the deadline on Thursday.

Jun 11, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo (44) pitches against the New York Mets during the first inning at Citi Field. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies traded for Jesus Luzardo at the end of December, a move that comes with some risk.

Luzardo, when he's healthy and on the mound, is one of the better left-handed pitchers in baseball. He's been hit with the injury bug in his career, but there's hope that those days are past him and he can be a valuable piece to the Phillies rotation.

Philadelphia will also have him for a decent price. According to Robert Murray of FanSided, the two have avoided arbitration ahead of Thursday's deadline, settling at $6.225 million.

Arbitration cases are tricky and oftentimes, players are severely underpaid. If Luzardo were on the free agency market, he'd likely be looking at more than double that amount.

However, that's the way the game works, and that's a good thing for the Phillies.

Luzardo won't hit free agency until 2027, but if he throws the baseball at the level he can, he should see a pay bump from arbitration in future winters.

In 2024, he only pitched in 12 games due to an elbow injury. He posted a 5.00 ERA and struck out just 58 hitters in 66 2/3 innings pitched.

The Peru natives 2022 and 2023 campaigns make him who he is. Luzardo tossed in 279.0 innings, posting a 3.48 ERA, 129 ERA+, 3.40 FIP, 1.151 WHIP and struck out 328 hitters.

Philadelphia has one of the best rotations in baseball, but if it can add the healthy Luzardo to the middle of it, there might not be a better unit in the game.

Much of his future will rely on his health, and for both sides, it'll be something to keep an eye on.