CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Everybody was there.
Jesús Luzardo walked into his press conference on Tuesday morning at BayCare Ballpark, expecting to answer a few questions about his life-changing five-year, $135 million contract extension with the Phillies. Many of the most important people in his life were in the room.
They cheered when they saw him. Luzardo shook hands with Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who pushed for this deal. Luzardo greeted his wife Francesca, his parents, Jesús and Monica, and his sister, Diana, who were seated a few feet away. Behind Luzardo’s family were Phillies owner John Middleton, manager Rob Thomson, pitching coach Caleb Cotham and other Phillies coaches, staff and executives.
Luzardo’s teammates stood in back. They had emptied the home clubhouse minutes earlier to attend.
“I think this came at the perfect time for me,” Luzardo said. “God put me here at the right time. I’m very thankful for this organization. I love it here. I’m glad that it worked out this way.”
Luzardo’s deal will keep him in Philadelphia through at least 2031. (The Phils have a $32.5 million team option for 2032.) After being drafted by the Nationals in June 2016, traded to the A’s in July 2017, dealt to the Marlins in July 2021 and traded to the Phillies on Dec. 22, 2024, he said he is grateful for the opportunity to create stability in his baseball life.
“And, hopefully, create a family and have a place where we call home and love and enjoy,” Luzardo said.
The Phillies and Luzardo’s agents, Brodie Van Wagenen and Roger Tomas, had preliminary discussions about a contract extension at the Winter Meetings. Did both parties have an appetite for an extension?
Yes, they said.
They already had to negotiate a one-year contract for 2026 to avoid a salary arbitration hearing before Spring Training, so they would be talking anyway. Luzardo agreed to an $11 million deal in early January.
“The tone of those negotiations was very positive,” Van Wagenen said. “Roger and I kept a very good productive tone with the one-year negotiation. We were very happy with how that played out. And that paved the way for the future discussion.”
Extension talks escalated about three weeks ago. The Phillies and Luzardo’s camp might have talked once every day, Van Wagenen said. They talked more frequently over the weekend.
They agreed to terms around 9 p.m. on Sunday.
“Thankfully it ended up working out,” Luzardo said. “It’s been a great ride. It’s some of the most fun I’ve ever had.”
There is risk in every long-term deal, of course. Luzardo has had health issues in the past. He had Tommy John surgery as a high school senior. A strained left forearm sidelined him for three months in 2022. He missed most of the 2024 season because of back and left elbow issues. The Cubs reportedly balked at a potential trade before the Phillies got him because they had concerns about Luzardo’s long-term health.
But Phillies executives in charge of making the deal were told by the team’s medical staff, athletic training staff and others that Luzardo posed no greater health risk than any other pitcher on the market.
It made them more comfortable in making Luzardo one of the highest-paid left-handers in baseball.
“It starts with the person,” Dombrowski said. “It can’t end there, of course. But the hard work, the dedication, the drive to be the best, what he does on the mound, giving you every bit of effort. But then you also talk about the talent. You combine all of that with one of the best arms in the game from the left-hand side. … Anytime you talk about a long-term deal, which we are, you always want to make sure you have the work ethic that will continue to be that way. And talking to his father, shaking hands, I said, ‘You must be a hard worker, too.’ And he said, ‘I'm still working.’ So that's the way it is.”
The Phillies believe Luzardo’s deal sets them up for a bright future. Zack Wheeler is under contract through 2027. Luzardo, Cristopher Sánchez, Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter will be under team control through at least 2030, assuming the Phillies pick up Sánchez’s 2029 and ’30 club options.
They believe it will extend their window to win a World Series.
“You go out there daily, and you look at who’s on the mound,” Dombrowski said. “It doesn’t always work this way, but do you have the edge or not? I really like having the edge, myself.”
Luzardo pitched with an edge last year. He impressed during the regular season. He impressed during two postseason appearances against the Dodgers.
“He has that drive,” Wheeler said. “He works really hard. When he goes out there, he’s all in. He’s a gamer. He doesn’t like failure. He doesn’t like to lose. None of us do, but he kind of has that dog in him.”
Luzardo has no plans to let up. It’s not in his nature. Everybody in that room on Tuesday knows it.
“I always want to be the best,” Luzardo said. “For me, for this organization, for everyone involved, for the guys in the clubhouse. Every five days, I want to go out and be as good as I can and as great as I can to give us a chance to win. Whatever that means, who knows? But I'll tell you that throughout these next five, six years, the only thing I expect is to be great every time out. And that's what I work for.”