Luzardo’s electric debut has Phils amped for formidable rotation
CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Phillies pushed hard to get Garrett Crochet from the White Sox last summer.
They offered the Sox at least two top prospects, including Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford, as The Athletic reported. The Phils made such an aggressive offer that some wondered if they might be giving up too much. But any feelings of pre-buyer’s remorse didn’t last long, because the White Sox said no.
Chicago traded Crochet to Boston in December. A couple weeks later, Philadelphia got Jesús Luzardo from Miami for prospects Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd.
Luzardo and Crochet started Friday afternoon’s Grapefruit League game between the Phillies and Red Sox at BayCare Ballpark. Luzardo looked like the pitcher Philadelphia hopes he will be, retiring the only six batters he faced in two scoreless innings in the Phils’ 7-5 victory. It had teammates dreaming about a season with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, Cristopher Sánchez and Luzardo in the same rotation.
“I feel like we have a No. 1 and maybe four No. 2s,” Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto said.
Luzardo’s fastball touched 97.7 mph on Friday. His four-seam and two-seam fastballs averaged 96.7 mph.
His fastball velocity dropped to 95.1 mph last year, when he missed most of the season with Miami because of an injured back. But Friday’s velocity matched the 96.7 mph he averaged in 2023, when he went 10-10 with a 3.58 ERA in 32 starts.
“My arm just feels alive again,” Luzardo said.
“Electric stuff,” Realmuto said. “I’ve had to try to hit him for five, six years now. Finally getting to catch him and work with him on the other side was certainly fun. I kind of saw who he is today. He pounds the strike zone, really attacks the hitters and gets a lot of weak contact. He’s going to be fun to work with.”
