Sources: Phillies and Luzardo agree to 5-year, $135 million contract extension

The Philadelphia Phillies secured Jesús Luzardo after reaching a five-year contract extension agreement in exchange for $135 million, sources told AM850.

The Philadelphia Phillies assured to keep Jesus Luzardo, a year before his entry into free agency after reaching an agreement with the left-hander with a five-year contract extension worth $135 million, sources informed AM850.

Luzardo, 28, joined Philadelphia in a trade before the 2025 season and starred for the Phillies, going 15-7 with a 3.92 ERA, striking out 216 in 183.2 innings. Fearful of losing him after the 2026 season, the Phillies they converted to Luzardo one of the highest-paid left-handed pitchers in baseball, according to sources, behind only aces Framber Valdez, Blake Snell, Garrett Crochet and Max Fried.

With a 97 mph fastball and one of the best sliders in baseball, Luzardo is one of the best strikeouts in baseball. He will remain in a rotation that already includes NL Cy Young runners-up from the past two seasons, Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler.

The deal, brokered by Roc Nation’s Roger Tomas and Brodie Van Wagenen, was finalized in recent weeks as Luzardo signaled his desire to remain in Philadelphia following the deal that sent shortstop prospect Starlyn Caba and outfield prospect Emaarion Boyd to Miami in December 2024.

Luzardo, who was selected by Washingtontraded to Oakland and again to Miami, found stability in Philadelphia, which won the National League East last year and is aiming for its third consecutive division title this season.

Although elbow and back injuries limited Luzardo’s ability to stay on the field early in his career, his talent was never in doubt. Selected in the third round of the 2016 draft out of Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Luzardo has long been known for his powerful left arm. His 216 strikeouts last season ranked second in the National League behind San Francisco ace Logan Webb, and his strikeout rate of 10.58 per nine innings was second only to Dylan Cease, whose $210 million free agent contract over the winter, taking into account deferred money, is slightly less per year than Luzardo’s.

Because of Luzardo’s low walk rate (2.79 per nine innings last year) and his ability to limit home runs (0.78 per nine innings), the Phillies felt comfortable adding five years to his $6.625 million salary this season. Only Cy Young winners Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal, Sánchez, Webb and Boston ace Garrett Crochet posted better pitching numbers independent of fielding — which are typically a strong predictor of future performance — than Luzardo in 2025.