With the Philadelphia Phillies once again positioned to win it all, the front office could be viewing this as one last time to run it back, even if it feels like this core should’ve been changed years ago. However, there are some new faces on the roster, and regardless of whether the Phillies want to change things one day, they’d both make sense as long-term options.
According to Evan Macy of PhillyVoice, two pitchers stand out as logical extension candidates who could shape the next win-now window, as Jesus Luzardo and Jhoan Duran are that good.
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“Jesús Luzardo, Jhoan Duran: Luzardo is in his final year of arbitration, making $11 million, and he’s in a contract year at age 28. The better he pitches, the more he’ll cost the Phillies to retain. Luzardo was very good most of the time in 2025, but he did have some blow-up games as well, and it’s possible the team wants to see him on the field again before they negotiate for his return.
“Duran is a different sort of case. He is under team control for one more season after this one, but if he does hit free agency — assuming his lockdown late-innings domination continues — he’ll be wildly expensive (the Dodgers will pay closer Edwin Diaz $23 million a year after his signing a few months ago). As the Phils did with Sánchez, a preemptive extension makes perfect sense for Duran as his prime continues,” Macy wrote.
At 28 years old, Luzardo is in his prime, and when he’s healthy, he looks like a frontline starter capable of winning a postseason series. For the Phillies, that upside is incredibly valuable, but so is certainty. Luzardo has had moments when he looks just as good as any left-hander in the game and others when he can’t stay healthy and his stuff isn’t there.
For Duran, nowadays, elite relievers rarely hit free agency without getting massive contracts, and the Phillies have seen that market grow in real time. If Duran continues to dominate late innings, Philadelphia may not want to pay him as much as he’ll be looking for.