The Phillies are fortifying their already strong rotation.
Philadelphia is acquiring left-handed starter Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed Sunday morning.
Starlyn Caba, a 19-year-old shortstop ranked as the Phillies’ No. 4 prospect by MLB.com, and Emaarion Boyd, a 21-year-old outfielder ranked 23rd, are going to Miami in the trade.
The Phillies are acquiring Jesus Luzardo in a trade with the Marlins. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Luzardo, 27, was limited to 12 starts last year due to a back injury and pitched to a 5.00 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 66 ⅔ innings.
He had a career year in 2023, when he had a 3.58 ERA with 208 strikeouts in 178 ⅔ innings across 32 starts.
That marked by far the most innings Luzardo had thrown in a season; the year before he threw 100 ⅓ innings, and in 2018 he threw 109 ⅓ innings.
The Phillies are sending shortstop prospect Starlyn Caba to the Marlins in the trade. Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesLuzardo joins a rotation already featuring Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Christopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez, and they have top pitching prospect Andrew Painter waiting in the wings.
The Phillies haven’t made many changes to their lineup after the NL East champs were ousted by the Mets in the NLDS.
They recently struck a one-year, $10 million deal with former Twins outfielder Max Kepler, whose best season came in 2019, when he hit 36 home runs with 90 RBIs, a .252 average and .855 OPS.
The left-handed hitter hit 24 home runs with a .260 average and .816 OPS in 2023 but struggled last year amid knee injuries, hitting just eight home runs with a .682 OPS in 105 games.
Earlier this month, the Phillies signed reliever Jordan Romano to a one-year, $8.5 million contract after an ugly, injury-plagued 2024 with the Blue Jays, posting a 6.59 ERA in 15 appearances.
The 31-year-old, however, put together three strong seasons from 2021-23, recording a 2.37 ERA with 95 saves across 184 appearances during that span.
