When the Phillies pulled off the trade for Jesús Luzardo just before Christmas, the move garnered overall favorable views. The team sent a young top-100 prospect in Starlyn Caba and outfielder Emaarion Boyd to the Marlins in the swap.
The cost seemed to fit the bill as Luzardo had two years of control and plenty of upside. He was also a fairly large injury risk. He reached over 101 innings pitched in his career only once and was coming off a season where he pitched just 66.2 IP.
While the concerns were real, Luzardo silenced them in 2025.
On Wednesday night, Luzardo made his final start of the season. He threw seven shutout innings against his former team with ten strikeouts. He reached new career-highs in strikeouts (216, which leads the National League) and innings pitched (183.2).
"I think all worked out well," said Luzardo.
Since being traded, Luzardo has won a division title, became just the 7th pair of LHPs (with Cristopher Sánchez) to strike out 200+ in a season for a team, and learned an entirely new pitch.
The sweeper debuted in 2025 to rave reviews. Luzardo has thrown 933 sweepers this year. Opponents have hit a minuscule .178 against it. Their expected batting average is even worse at .160.
"I've grown more comfortable with it, so it's definitely a weapon for me," said Luzardo on the pitch's evolution. He gave credit to Pitching Coach Caleb Cotham and Assistant Pitching Coach Mark Lowy for their work on the matter.
Almost half of his strikeouts (95) have come via the sweeper. Add in 15 wins and a 2.90 FIP, and the 27-year-old's season has been nothing short of spectacular.
"I think it's shown me what I'm capable of especially coming off a year like last year," he said.
With his help, the Phillies locked up the #2 seed in the playoffs on Wednesday night. Now, the impressive lefty and the Fightin's have just one thing on their minds.
"I've been blessed to be traded here to a team that has World Series expectations, and that's the sole goal on all of our minds," said Luzardo.
