8 hours ago 10

Phillies Predicted to Move Jesus Luzardo to Bullpen With Andrew Painter's Debut Waiting

The Philadelphia Phillies' starting rotation is loaded, and while that's always a good thing, it could cause some confusion heading into the trade deadline and the second half of the season.

For the Phillies, who will be without their best reliever, Jose Alvarado, due to a suspension, despite returning at the end of the year, it further complicates things.

That could mean making someone like Jesus Luzardo a potential bullpen option.

When looking at the possibility, The Athletic recently named him the most likely candidate to be put in the bullpen. They noted that there's an early candidate for the move, naming Luzardo as that player.

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo (44) reacts after being removed from the game against the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park.

“Those dates are far away. But there’s an early candidate for the move: Jesús Luzardo, who has stumbled somewhat since recovering from potentially tipping and surrendering 20 runs to the Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers. Luzardo has worked high pitch counts early in recent outings; it was 13 after the first inning on Saturday, which jumped to 44 after facing six batters in the second. He threw 27 pitches in the first at Tampa Bay on May 8. Against the Diamondbacks on May 2, he threw 27 pitches in the second and 25 in the third,” they wrote.

Luzardo was struggling, but has seemingly figured some things out over his past few outings.

In his last two appearances, against the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves, he allowed just two earned runs. While he allowed seven hits and walked three against the Braves, throwing in 5.0 innings, he limited damage by giving up two runs.

Adding him to the bullpen would be intriguing, but it's also something that he'd have to get used to, as he hasn't been a reliever since the 2021 campaign with the Oakland Athletics.