The Marlins keep sliding out of contention, but Luzardo can be bright spot in second half
In all of five pitches, the best of Jesus Luzardo was back for the Miami Marlins, even if his return is coming right as their season is slipping away.
For his first at-bat in nearly three months, the pitcher stared down Jonathan India and worked his way into a favorable count, with two of his first three pitches painting the edges of the plate for called strikes. On the fifth pitch of his first plate appearance since May, Luzardo got to do what he has always done best and make a hitter look foolish. He whipped a slider out and away from India, and strutted off the mound when the Cincinnati Reds’ second baseman flailed at a diving pitch in the dirt.
This was the sort of combination Luzardo, 24, rode through the minors to become a consensus top-15 prospect before he debuted in 2019 and the form he recaptured at the start of this season — before he landed on the injured list with a right forearm strain — to make his case for consideration as part of the Marlins’ lauded cache of mid-20s starters.
“It was amazing to be back on the mound,” Luzardo said. “A couple months back, I didn’t know where I was going to be the rest of the year in terms of health.”
After more than two months of frustrating recovery and rehabilitation, Luzardo returned from the 60-day IL on Monday and still looked the part, even though Miami lost 3-1 to the Reds in front of 7, 701 at loanDepot park on the eve of the trade deadline. In five innings, Luzardo threw 81 pitches, struck out five, didn’t walk anyone and gave up just three hits, and only one of those was on a hard-hit ball.
Those three hits did, however, come during a five-batter sequence in the second inning and gave Cincinnati a pair of earned runs against Luzardo. Otherwise, the left-handed pitcher cruised with 1-2-3 innings in the first, third and fifth, and an error was the only thing separating Luzardo from another in the fourth.
At the same time, the Marlins only recorded one hit while Luzardo was in the game and didn’t score until the ninth inning, narrowly avoiding a sixth shutout in 14 games. Miami (47-56) is now 8 1/2 games out of wild card position with less than 60 games left in the regular season. By the time Luzardo pitches next, the Marlins might have decided to sell off contributors and even more fully look ahead toward the future.
Whether the future Miami is thinking about is the stretch run or next season, Luzardo will be part of those plans and his return from injury Monday was promising. His no-walk outing was his first since 2021. His velocity topped out at nearly 97 mph. He threw more than 60 percent of his pitches for strikes, got 12 swings and misses, and threw first-pitch strikes to 12 of the 19 batters he faced in his two-plus turns against the Reds’ order.
They were all indicators suggesting Luzardo’s long layoff didn’t derail him too much from the success he found in the spring, when he posted a 3.08 ERA before he got hurt in his sixth start.
“We’ve kind of forgotten the command issues,” manager Don Mattingly said.
If Luzardo can maintain it, he can solidify himself as part of the Marlins’ pitching core -- and give Miami some more flexibility if it opts to move starting pitcher Pablo Lopez before the 6 p.m. trade deadline Tuesday.
This year, Lopez and All-Star starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara, both 26, have formed one of the best 1-2 punches in the Majors, but an anemic offense and rash of injuries have prevented the Marlins from really riding those two into contention. It leaves general manager Kim Ng and Co. with a predicament: Should they trade Lopez in hopes of improving their offense or hang on to him and keep building around their still-young starting staff.
Luzardo, who was born in Peru and graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, could give them some flexibility. Alcantara and 24-year-old starting pitcher Trevor Rogers, an All-Star last year, are two reliable long-term pieces. Miami has two more pitchers ranked among MLB.com’s top 100 prospects and two more of the organization’s top six prospects are pitchers, too. Luzardo, whom the Marlins acquired ahead of the trade deadline last year, is a wild card in the picture because he has never quite lived up to his lofty potential, although there have been signs this year, including Monday.
If his latest start is a sign of what’s to come the rest of the year, Luzardo will be firmly in the long-term mix, whether Lopez is still in South Florida or not.
More Marlins moves, injury updates
Earlier Monday, the Marlins optioned starting pitcher Nick Neidert and designated relief pitcher Jake Fishman for assignment to help make room for Luzardo on the active roster.
Miami also recalled relief pitcher Aneurys Zabala, who made his first — and, so far, only — MLB appearance back in June.
Neidert is going to Triple A Jacksonville and Fishman, who gave up four hits and one run across 3 1/3 innings in his MLB debut Sunday, will now have to clear waivers if the Marlins are to keep him. Mattingly said he’s sort of hoping the reliever gets claimed by someone and goes right back to the Majors because he believes he’s deserving, but the organization is obviously hoping to keep the 27-year-old rookie.
Miami also moved pitcher Jordan Holloway to the 60-day IL — he has a right elbow impingement — to make room for Luzardo on the 40-man roster.
In addition to the roster moves, the Marlins offered up a long list of injury updates Monday with about half a dozen contributors, including two All-Stars, currently on the IL.
Garrett Cooper, one of those two All-Stars, might be closest to returning. After playing a rehab game for Class A Jupiter on Saturday, the slugger took batting practice on the field Monday at loanDepot park and is eligible to come off the IL on Wednesday. The 31-year-old has been out for a little more than a week with a right wrist contusion.
Middle infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., the other All-Star remains far from a return, afer Miami shifted him to the 60-day IL last month when a CT scan revealed a stress fracture in his back.
Third basemen Brian Anderson and Jon Berti, however, are making more significant progress. Anderson took soft toss Monday and Berti has begun fielding grounders, running and taking batting practice.
Miami is also still missing several pitchers, although relief pitcher Anthony Bender should be activated some time this week. He joined the team in Miami on Monday.
Elieser Hernandez is also making progress. The pitcher threw an inning in the Florida Complex League on Monday. Relief pitcher Cole Sulser is even further along and will join the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Thursday to continue his rehab after making a pair of appearances with the Jupiter Hammerheads.
There’s also some progress for Sixto Sanchez: The rookie starting pitcher threw an inning of live batting practice Saturday, will have another bullpen session Wednesday and then throw two innings of live batting practice Saturday. The 24-year-old Dominican has not appeared in a game at any level since 2020, when he posted a 3.46 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 39 innings with the Marlins.
This story was originally published August 1, 2022 at 9:36 PM.
