CHICAGO — The red-hot pitcher the Chicago Cubs will face on Saturday is one they tried to acquire in December.
The Cubs had a trade in place with the Miami Marlins for left-hander Jesús Luzardo, but backed out after a review of his medical records, league sources told The Athletic.
Concerns over Luzardo’s back and elbow made the Cubs reluctant to pay the agreed-upon acquisition cost. Details of the package the Marlins would have received are not known.
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Following the collapse of the trade, the Marlins sent Luzardo and minor-league catcher/outfielder Paul McIntosh to the Philadelphia Phillies for two minor leaguers, shortstop Starlyn Caba and outfielder Emaarion Boyd. Caba, 19, is the No. 72 prospect in Keith Law’s Top 100.
Both Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix declined to comment. Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement prohibits clubs from disclosing detailed medical information about a player’s condition unless the player gives his consent.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, without specifically commenting on Luzardo’s injury history, said, “I’ve had plenty of players where one club hasn’t taken a player because of medicals and another club has, and the player is fine. Everybody has their own standards, how they read certain injuries.
“Our (doctors and athletic trainers) — and knock on wood, because you never know what happens — have been very good at analyzing guys for us. And they have turned guys down at times, too, for us. But they felt they would be able to keep (Luzardo) healthy.”
Luzardo, 27, was under club control for two seasons at the time of the trade. The Phillies avoided arbitration with him for 2025 by settling on a one-year, $6.225 million contract. They can retain Luzardo for 2026 by going through the arbitration process again.
The risk in acquiring Luzardo, however, was not insignificant. Twice last season, he missed time with injuries. He was out from April 26 to May 11 with elbow tightness, and did not pitch after June 16 due to a lumbar stress reaction.
The Cubs agreed to their trade for Luzardo, pending a medical review, after signing free-agent left-hander Matthew Boyd to a two-year, $29 million contract. Once their deal for Luzardo was off, they bolstered their rotation depth by signing free-agent righty Colin Rea to a one-year, $5 million contract with a club option for 2026.
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That depth has proven necessary. Ace left-hander Justin Steele underwent season-ending elbow surgery last week. Another potential starter, right-hander Javier Assad, suffered a recent setback in his recovery from a strained left oblique and is shut down.
Luzardo, meanwhile, is off to the best start of any member of the Phillies’ powerhouse rotation, producing a 2.08 ERA in his first five starts while striking out 36 and walking only seven in 30 1/3 innings.
“I would just compare this to ‘23, how I’ve been feeling,” Luzardo said, referring to a season in which he established career highs in starts (32) and innings (178 2/3) and finished with a 3.58 ERA. “Just healthy in general. Feeling strong, explosive.
“Last year, the back obviously was a lingering problem every start. It wouldn’t really let me get to where I wanted physically. Having eliminated that, I feel way better.”
Informed that the Cubs backed off acquiring him because of medical concerns, Luzardo just smiled.
“I feel great,” he said.
— The Athletic’s Jayson Stark, Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma contributed to this story.
(Top photo of Jesús Luzardo: Hunter Martin / Getty Images)
