How Jesus Luzardo 'changes everything' for Phillies in MLB postseason

The Philadelphia Phillies' magic number to make the MLB postseason is down to two with four games left, one against the Milwaukee Brewers and three against the Tampa Bay Rays.

A loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks or San Diego Padres would knock it down to just one. While they're not in the postseason yet, it's looking very likely. If they get there, the Phillies will have one major concern for the playoffs.

As ESPN's Alden Gonzalez highlighted alongside a rival MLB executive, the Phillies' playoff hopes might rely on Jesus Luzardo. The left-hander "changes everything" for the Phillies, and Gonzalez revealed why.

How Jesus Luzardo 'changes everything' for Phillies in postseason

"Still, it's hard to dismiss the Luzardo factor in all this," Gonzalez writes. "He changes everything. 'If he's healthy,' a rival front office executive said, 'they're my answer.' If not, he added, the Brewers are the better, more well-rounded team. Luzardo is that important."

This MLB executive was giving an answer to the question: "Which other teams do MLB insiders feel could be this October's most dangerous?"

If the Phillies have Luzardo in the mix, alongside Cristopher Sanchez, Zack Wheeler, a resurgent Aaron Nola, and a bouncing-back Andrew Painter, this starting rotation has some serious potential to dominate in the postseason.

While the Phillies' offense might be shaky, and the bullpen is questionable outside of Jhoan Duran and Alex McFarlane lately, the upside with the rotation is more than enough to make a major difference in October.

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A fully healthy rotation for the Phillies can go head-to-head with any team in baseball, if not outplay every rotation, the Los Angeles Dodgers included.

But if Luzardo is out, that's not likely to be the case. They'll still be in good shape, but the upside of this team will be capped without Luzardo.

This rival MLB executive believes the Phillies getting Luzardo back could be what makes this team a serious contender. Gonzalez put it simply: "He changes everything."

Luzardo's addition to the rotation changes the calculus of how the Phillies can win a series. But with Luzardo questionable amid shoulder inflammation, the Phillies' hopes for a deep postseason run might rely on whether that shoulder issue goes away soon.

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