Jesús Luzardo impresses in first spring training outing

Consider this a great sign for the Phillies: Jesús Luzardo was as good as advertised in his spring training debut on Friday.

Facing the Boston Red Sox at home in Clearwater, Luzardo worked a pair of 1-2-3 innings, retiring all six batters he faced. His fastball touched 98 mph. He also recorded both strikeouts on his changeup.

“I think the changeup is the equalizer, always,” Luzardo told the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast after his outing. “Thankfully, it was working today. It’s been feeling really good all offseason, and now in the spring. I think it’s going to be a big weapon for me moving forward.”

Luzardo was the biggest pickup for the Phillies this offseason. Acquired via trade from the Miami Marlins in December, Luzardo is looking to bounce back after missing the last three-and-a-half months of 2024 due to a lumbar stress reaction. In 2023, Luzardo had a 3.58 ERA over 178 2/3 innings, and was the Marlins’ Game 1 starter against the Phillies in the National League Wild Card Round.

His spring Phillies debut came opposite of new Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet. The Phillies were reportedly close to acquiring Crochet at last year’s deadline, and continued to be one of the teams rumored as the favorites to acquire him heading into the offseason. Crochet ended up going to the Red Sox in a deal that cost Boston two top 100 prospects in former first-round draft picks Kyle Teel and Braden Montgomery.

Crochet struck out three and walked three before being pulled with two outs in the bottom of the second against a loaded Phillies lineup, minus Kyle Schwarber.

The Phillies gave up one Top 100 prospect in Starlyn Caba as part of the package for Luzardo. Caba, 19, is considered one of the best defensive shortstops in the minor leagues. It will be fun to compare both Crochet and Luzardo over the next two years. Both were traded with two years left of team control, with Crochet costing a lot more in prospect capital.

Luzardo wasn’t the only Phillies pitcher with an interesting spring debut on the mound. Koyo Aoyagi, who signed a minor league deal with the Phillies out of Japan, gave up some hard contact and struggled to stay in the strike zone. He recovered nicely, striking out two batters before being pulled after 29 pitches.

Jean Cabrera, the 2021 Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Year, struck out four batters over two innings.

The Phillies hung on to beat the Red Sox, 7-5. They are now 3-2 in Grapefruit League play.