Why Phillies $135 million extension with Jesus Luzardo is a steal

The Philadelphia Phillies are World Series contenders once again, even after losing a few key players like Harrison Bader and Ranger Suarez this offseason.

But Suarez's departure has not only opened the door for Andrew Painter, but it's also given the Phillies some money to work with. And Dave Dombrowski has already used it, signing Jesus Luzardo to a five-year, $135 million extension.

This contract is a steal for the Phillies. The reason why is simple: compared to other top left-handed pitchers, this contract on a per-year basis is very affordable for the Phillies.

Why $135M Jesus Luzardo extension is a steal for Phillies

As Jon Heyman of The New York Post shared on Twitter/x, Luzardo's deal comes in at $27 million per-year, which ties him with Chris Sale for top AAV for a left-handed pitcher.

It's less money per-year than Framber Valdez ($38.33M), Blake Snell ($30.01M), Garrett Crochet ($28.33M), and Max Fried ($27.25M), as Heyman noted.

Not only did the Phillies lock up Luzardo for the next five seasons, through 2031, but they are also getting him on a reasonable contract.

It's still a lot of money for Luzardo, a 28-year-old lefty pitcher who's had some inconsistencies in his MLB career.

But, coming off a strong 2025 with the Phillies, where he had a 3.92 ERA in 32 starts across 183.2 innings pitched with 216 strikeouts and a 15-6 record, Luzardo deserved this nice payday.

As long as he can continue giving the Phillies great production, this contract will be well worth it for the Phillies. Having Luzardo and Cristopher Sanchez locked up for the foreseeable future is huge for the Phillies.

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With Painter under club control for at least six more seasons, and Aaron Nola around for a while, the Phillies starting rotation shouldn't be weak, barring injury, anytime soon.

Part of what makes this such a nice deal for the Phillies is that Luzardo isn't hitting free agency next offseason, when he would easily be one of the top pitchers on the open market, and likely to land a massive contract.

Instead, he's sticking in Philadelphia on a $27 million per-year deal that's only one million more per-season than what Suarez got from the Red Sox. Suarez is two years older and has dealt with injury concerns in recent years.

The Phillies are getting a discount on Luzardo, and if he continues to progress and pitch well as he has for the majority of his Phillies career, then this $135 million contract will look like a steal when it's all said and done.

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