Phillies, Luzardo agree to 5-year, $135 million extension (source)

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Phillies couldn’t let Jesús Luzardo go.

Luzardo didn’t want to go anywhere, either.

Sources confirmed reports on Monday night that the Phillies and Luzardo have agreed to a five-year, $135 million contract extension. Luzardo, 28, was set to become a free agent following the 2026 season, but the extension -- which has not been confirmed by the club -- will keep him in a Phillies uniform through 2031.

The deal includes no deferrals and a $32.5 million club option for 2032, which includes $2 million in raises for every season he finishes in the top five in Cy Young Award voting.

“I’d obviously love to be a Phillie for a long time,” Luzardo said in December while appearing at a baseball camp in Coconut Creek, Fla. “I had a great time last year. I really love the organization and the clubhouse.”

It made sense for the Phillies to lock up Luzardo before he hit free agency.

First, they didn’t have to compete with 29 other teams to sign him.

Second, it gives them instant short-term and long-term depth and security for the rotation.

Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, Aaron Nola, Luzardo and Andrew Painter will be under team control through 2027. Sánchez, Nola, Luzardo and Painter could be under team control through 2030, if the Phillies pick up a pair of club options for Sánchez in ’29 and ’30.

Wheeler is progressing well following thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September. He could rejoin the Phillies’ rotation in April. But even if he returns to his typical Cy Young-caliber form, he is only signed through 2027.

Nola is coming off the worst year of his career.

Painter is an unproven prospect following Tommy John surgery in 2023.

Taijuan Walker will be a free agent following the season.

The Phillies don’t have much starting pitching depth in the organization beyond that.

So, Luzardo will help. He went 15-7 with a 3.92 ERA in 32 starts in his first season in Philadelphia. The Phillies acquired him and Minor League catcher Paul McIntosh in a Dec. 2024 trade with the Marlins for prospects Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd.

Luzardo finished seventh for the NL Cy Young Award and might have finished higher, except he had a two-start stretch in late May/early June in which he allowed 20 earned runs in six innings, acknowledging later he had been tipping his pitches.

Luzardo went 10-5 with a 3.57 ERA in his final 19 starts. He pitched well in the postseason, allowing two runs in six innings in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Dodgers. He allowed an unearned run in 1 2/3 innings in relief in Game 4.