PHILADELPHIA – The Phillies added further depth to one of the strongest rotations in baseball on Sunday, acquiring left-handed starter Jesús Luzardo and Minor League catcher/outfielder Paul McIntosh from the Marlins in exchange for two prospects.

Shortstop Starlyn Caba (Phillies' No. 4 prospect) and outfielder Emaarion Boyd (Phillies' No. 23 prospect) are heading to Miami, and Philadelphia designated left-handed pitcher Tyler Gilbert for assignment to clear a spot for Luzardo on the 40-man roster.

TRADE DETAILS
Phillies get: LHP Jesús Luzardo, Minor League C/OF Paul McIntosh
Marlins get: SS Starlyn Caba (PHI No. 4 prospect), OF Emaarion Boyd (PHI No. 23)

Luzardo, who is arbitration-eligible and under team control through 2026, joins a rotation that already features Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez. The Phillies have also said they expect top pitching prospect Andrew Painter to be part of the rotation at some point in 2025.

Until Painter is ready, that leaves Luzardo and Taijuan Walker to fill that final rotation spot. Walker is entering the third season of his four-year, $72 million deal, but he’s coming off a disastrous 2024 campaign in which he had a 7.10 ERA and struggled to ever gain a feel for his splitter. He was moved to the bullpen down the stretch, and that’s likely where he’ll begin the season following the addition of Luzardo.

The 27-year-old Luzardo had his own struggles last season, recording a 5.00 ERA over 12 starts in 2024 before his season came to an end due to a lumbar stress reaction. He missed time with left elbow tightness as well. A former top prospect, Luzardo has battled injuries throughout his career, tossing just 512 innings in parts of six seasons for the A's and Marlins.

However, the southpaw showed his upside in 2022-23, posting a 3.48 ERA (129 ERA+) with a 10.6 K/9 in 50 starts over those two seasons, which also included a start against the Phillies in Game 1 of the 2023 NL Wild Card Series. Luzardo’s best season came in 2023, when he made 32 starts and notched a 3.58 ERA with 208 strikeouts over 178 2/3 innings for Miami.

That’s the version of Luzardo the Phillies are hoping to get as they continue to put more emphasis on run prevention.

The lone addition to the lineup to this point in the offseason is outfielder Max Kepler, who signed a one-year deal on Friday. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said following that deal that he doesn’t expect the club to make any other significant moves on the offensive side, but he was still hoping the Phils could bolster their pitching depth – and they did exactly that just two days later.

Philadelphia knows its rotation will be its biggest strength.

It’s led by Wheeler, who has finished as the NL Cy Young runner-up in two of the past four seasons. Along with being one of the best pitchers in the Majors, he’s also established himself as one of the most dominant postseason pitchers of all time.

Nola, meanwhile, has been one of the most durable arms in the Majors for the past seven seasons, leading all pitchers in starts and innings since 2018, while ranking second in strikeouts (1,406) and fourth in wins (80). Toss in Suárez and Sánchez, who were each first-time All-Stars last season, and the Phillies already had arguably the top one through four of any rotation in baseball.

The addition of Luzardo not only has the potential to improve that group even further, but it also provides flexibility with Suárez entering the final year of his contract. He’ll likely be in line for a sizable deal next offseason, and while that could make him a potential trade candidate, the Phils have said they’d like to keep him in the organization.