Jesús Luzardo addresses trade rumors, 2024 adjustments and more

[Kevin Barral]

Jesús Luzardo was among the Marlins pitchers who threw his first bullpen session of Spring Training on Thursday. Following his bullpen, he spoke to the media about everything he has been working on and looking ahead to this season.

JUPITER, FL—The first pitchers and catchers workout of Marlins Spring Training is in the books. Coming off a breakout 2023 season, left-hander Jesús Luzardo held an extended press conference on Thursday about this milestone.

"It feels great to be back around the guys, around the whole team," said Luzardo. "Feels like everyone has a nice upbeat mentality and kind of energy going into this year. I think we're all very excited and looking forward to it. I know everyone put in a lot of work in the offseason. We're excited to get out and show it to you this year."

In 2023, Luzardo threw a career-high 178 ⅔ innings and reached a career-high 208 strikeouts, earning the honor of starting Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series. What was Luzardo's main takeaway?

"For me, it's really the health. Just being able to stay on the field and take the ball every five days is what's most important for me. Being able to be available for the team, whenever they need me. That's something that I want to keep keep going and 2024."

Catching Luzardo's bullpen was new acquisition Christian Bethancourt. He and Luzardo had never been teammates before, but their first bullpen together looked encouraging and you could hear them communicating in Spanish throughout.

"It just kind of came out," said Luzardo. "We're both Latin, but he speaks really good English as well. We kind of mix and match...A guy like [Bethancourt] who's bilingual, it just helps a lot being able to talk to both the Latin guys and American guys, whatever it might be. It's very helpful on a team."

Luzardo mentioned the addition of a curveball to his arsenal. In 2023, his pitch mix included a four-seam fastball, slider, changeup, sinker and occasional cutter.

Trade rumors have swirled around Luzardo this offseason now that he is established as a quality starting pitcher and seems unlikely to receive a long-term extension from the Marlins. Most recently, Craig Mish of SportsGrid and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported that the Marlins and Baltimore Orioles discussed a potential Luzardo trade, but Baltimore was just never able to meet the asking price.

"I was never involved in any of those conversations," said Luzardo. "It's just part of the business that it comes with. I love being here. I love being a Marlin. I've been a Marlins fan my whole life. Grew up in South Florida. The longer I could be here, the happier I'll be, but at the end of the day, it is what it is. Whatever happens happens, but like I said, I'm happy to be here and I'm happy to be a part of this team."

The full list of pitchers who threw bullpens on Thursday: Luzardo, Ryan Weathers, George Soriano, Matt Andriese, Bryan Hoeing, Max Meyer, Jeff Lindgren, Calvin Faucher, Roddery Muñoz, Sixto Sanchez and Anthony Bender.

 

 

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