CLEARWATER, Fla. — Like any entry-level job, the goal is a promotion. Once you get promoted, you eventually look for a raise.

The latter is where Jesús Luzardo sits heading into 2026 — a contract-year left-hander with a chance to push himself into hefty, nine-figure payday territory next winter.

Luzardo turns 29 in September, still young for a pitcher about to hit free agency.

Thursday in Clearwater, he looked like a guy who’s prepared for a big campaign.

Luzardo made his first Grapefruit League start against the Red Sox and punched out five over three scoreless innings. He allowed two hits (both bunt singles) and didn’t issue a walk, throwing 76 percent strikes, a similar tone to what Aaron Nola set a day earlier.

His afternoon started with a little chaos. Boston’s Braiden Ward dropped a leadoff bunt single. A balk moved him up. An obstruction call pushed him to third, all before Luzardo recorded an out.

Then he settled in.

He struck out the next three hitters, and in a small way, the inning became a snapshot of how this season might feel for pitchers across the league.

Two of those strikeouts didn’t come clean. Home plate umpire Felix Neon ruled strike three as a ball on both. Luzardo challenged the first; his backstop handled the second.

Both were upheld. Inning over.

That’s the Automated Ball-Strike system being fully implemented this season, and that’s J.T. Realmuto being J.T. Realmuto.

“JT does a good job — he obviously knows his zone really well and has a good look back there,” Luzardo said. “So we leave it in his hands.”

Could Luzardo be tempted to challenge himself in a big spot?

“I trust [Realmuto] completely. We talked about it. I told him I’d never challenge one all year, and I didn’t even last an inning,” Luzardo laughed. “That challenge with the third guy in the game. So I think I’ve got to tell myself to stop a little bit.”

The Peruvian-born lefty is an emotional pitcher on the mound, but leaning on a 34-year-old All-Star catcher is a strong plan. Realmuto’s preparation and feel for each pitch have always been what separates him behind the dish. With ABS in play, that value shows up in an even more direct way.

Luzardo, of course, is here for bigger reasons than a couple of overturned calls.

He’s looking to put together a full, consistent season after an up-and-down 2025 that included dominant stretches. With Ranger Suárez gone and Zack Wheeler expected to miss at least the first three weeks of the season, his role carries more weight.

Jesus Luzardo and Brandon Marsh spoke on how Luzardo looked in his first live batting practice session of spring training.

He doesn’t frame it as pressure.

“I’m in a different position than last year. I was coming in off an injury, and I feel like I was kind of a flyer for [the Phillies],” he said. “I wouldn’t call it pressure, but I think I put some emphasis on being a stable piece in this rotation until [Wheeler] gets back and just helping the guys give us a chance to win.”

Luzardo dealt with a season-ending lumbar stress reaction that cut his 2024 season short after just 12 starts. Now more than a year and a half removed from the injury, he’s in Philadelphia and took a different approach this offseason — and it’s showing up in his velocity.

“Honestly, took it easy earlier on in the offseason,” Luzardo said. “Normally, I would start throwing pretty early. The season went a little long last year, so I started slow and progressively built up to the work that I wanted to.”

Thomson noticed the same thing.

“He had an offseason where he took it a little easier because he didn’t have to rehab,” Thomson said. “I think it’s paid off. He looks really good.”

His fastball averaged 96.9 mph Thursday and touched 98.5, up from a 96.3 average last season.

“I feel good… Body’s in a good spot,” he said. “So I’m glad to see the velocity coming nice and easy without having to overthrow.”

He leaned heavily on his sweeper, which generated a 43.7 percent whiff rate last season, and his changeup, a pitch he wants to refine.

“Just trying to make it better and see how I could use it in different counts and see how it plays against both righties and lefties,” Luzardo said.

Between Luzardo, Cristopher Sánchez, Nola, Andrew Painter and Taijuan Walker, the Phillies starters to appear in Grapefruit League action have combined for 14 innings with no walks, a 1.29 ERA, 10 hits allowed and 17 strikeouts. Thomson wasn’t surprised.

“They pound the zone, they trust their stuff, and they go after people,” he said. “That’s what we want them to do.”

It’s early. But the pitching staff, even minus Wheeler, looks like what the Phillies believe it can be.

“I think our rotation is as elite as anyone around the league,” Luzardo said. “I think whoever takes the ball for us every fifth day is going to be ready to go.”