Jesus Luzardo is heading to the 15-day injured list

Drew Smith
September 15, 2026
Phillies
1 Comment

Some rough news out of the Phillies camp. Jesus Luzardo, the National League’s Pitcher of the Month in August and arguably the best pitcher in baseball for months, has been placed on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his left shoulder.

The move comes after he was scratched from his scheduled start in Atlanta on Saturday, and it’s a significant loss for a rotation that can’t really afford one right now.

Jesus Luzardo is heading to the IL

Prior to tonight’s game against the Washington Nationals, the Phillies placed LHP Jesús Luzardo on the 15-day injured list (retro to 9/12) with left shoulder inflammation. To fill his spot on the 28-man roster, the Phillies recalled RHP Grant Holman from Lehigh Valley (AAA).
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 15, 2026

Jesus Luzardo ranks third in the NL in innings pitched at 178 2/3 and seventh in ERA at 2.87. He’s been an absolute horse and the most reliable arm on the staff. Losing him, even temporarily, is exactly the kind of thing that can derail a playoff push at the worst possible time.

Luzardo will be eligible to return from the IL on September 27, the final day of the regular season, with the playoffs starting two days later. So the timing, if everything breaks right, could line up for him to be ready for October.

According to reports, Jesus Luzardo hoped to play catch on Tuesday, but the inflammation lingered and he stayed shut down. That’s the part that gives me a little pause. You want to hear that the shoulder is calming down, not that it’s still barking.

We’ll need to monitor this closely.

In the meantime, the Phillies recalled reliever Grant Holman from Triple-A to take Luzardo’s roster spot for Tuesday night’s game against Washington.

The bigger question is how they handle Luzardo’s next turn in the rotation, which was set to come up Friday in New York. It wasn’t immediately clear what the plan is, but recently signed Nestor Cortes, who’s been throwing down in Clearwater, could be a candidate to soak up some innings in that game.

The reality is the Phillies need Jesus Luzardo healthy for October. A playoff rotation with him anchoring it alongside Sanchez, Wheeler, Nola, and Painter is terrifying. Without him, it’s a much different, much less scary group.

Shoulder inflammation is tricky but there’s still a path for him to be back for the postseason, and that’s what matters.