Jesús Luzardo wants to be ‘as elite as possible’ in his ‘sink or swim’ year with the Phillies

CLEARWATER, Fla. — There’s a belt hanging in Jesús Luzardo’s locker at BayCare Ballpark embroidered with the words “SINK OR SWIM.”

It’s a motto of the Phillies 28-year-old left-hander, one that is also written on his glove. He adopted it after the 2023 season during his time with the Miami Marlins, and really leaned into it the following year after he suffered a season-ending back injury.

For him, it embodies how it feels to be a pitcher, alone on the mound.

“There’s really only one option. It’s either you make it, or you don’t,” Luzardo said. “It’s something I like to live by.”

The motto remains a guiding light as Luzardo enters a pivotal season, his last one before reaching free agency.

The Phillies’ rotation, an organizational strength for the past several years, has some question marks in 2026. The Phillies are optimistic about Zack Wheeler’s progress from thoracic surgery, but he is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day. Andrew Painter, a longtime friend of Luzardo’s, has the chance to earn a spot, but he has yet to throw a pitch in a major league game.

After the free agency departure of fellow lefty Ranger Suárez, Luzardo joins Cristopher Sánchez as two anchors in the Phillies’ rotation to start the season.

Coming off a career-high 183 ⅔ innings in 2025, Luzardo didn’t change much about his winter training. He prioritized rest and some lower-intensity workouts early in the offseason, but things were mostly business as usual.

“I feel now, just as good, or better than I did last year,” Luzardo said.

But he did come to camp with a potential new trick up his sleeve. Last season, in his first spring with the Phillies, Luzardo began toying with a sweeper. It ultimately became one of his best weapons, and he threw it 31% of the time. The pitch had a 43.7% whiff rate, and opponents hit just .178 against it.

This year, instead of adding another pitch to his mix of five, he is focusing on refining his changeup.

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“Just kind of trying to fine-tune it, and see if I can maybe get a little more swing-and-miss, or just kind of give guys a different look,” Luzardo said. “... Not that my changeup last year was bad, but it was maybe not elite, and I want to be as elite as possible.”

The process started about two months ago as a collaborative effort with pitching coach Caleb Cotham and the coaches Luzardo works with at home in South Florida. Luzardo’s changeup was his third-most used pitch in 2025, behind his four-seam and sweeper. He primarily threw it to right-handed batters, and hitters had a .224 batting average against it.

“He’s always trying to find that edge and the stretch to ‘What’s next? What can I do to get a little better?’” Cotham said. “And I think it’s important. That’s why guys like him stay in pace with the league, because the league’s always getting better. Hitters are always getting better.”

Luzardo said he “didn’t want to give much away” about the new-look pitch, but it does involve a change in grip. The idea is to make the changeup more consistent in how it flies.

Cotham visited Luzardo once during the offseason, but they mostly communicated via texts and videos. Watching Luzardo in a bullpen session earlier this week, Cotham was impressed with the results.

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“It’s as good as I’ve seen it,” Cotham said. “Hitters will be the true test.”

Luzardo’s commitment to finding ways to reinvent himself as a pitcher reminds Cotham of Wheeler, who added a splitter in 2024 and a sweeper the year before.

“You have to evolve. You have to keep seeing what you’re capable of,” Cotham said. “That’s the coolest part of being part of his journey, and being his coach, [is] being part of that collaborative process.”

Right-hander Zach McCambley, a Phillies Rule 5 pick in the December draft, threw a live batting practice session Saturday. “I like him,” Thomson said of the 26-year-old from the Marlins organization who has been a reliever the past three seasons after being drafted in the third round in 2020. “He can really spin his slider, what you call the sweeper. Really good pitch. There’s some depth there. He’s got a good fastball. It’s going to be mid-90s [mph]. Commands the baseball. It’s a good pickup.” ... Catcher René Pinto has reported to camp after being delayed by visa issues in Venezuela.