After agent Scott Boras was hired in December 2024, former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Ranger Suárez intimated that he planned to test free agency. This offseason, Suárez signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox. The Phillies’ rotation suffers from his absence, particularly at the beginning of the 2026 regular season. Next winter, Philadelphia did not want to take the chance of history repeating again. On March 9, they reached a multi-year agreement with starter Jesús Luzardo.
Luzardo’s contract extension (subscription required) has given the Phillies further rotation depth for the upcoming seasons. Fans should have more faith in the front office, which is helmed by general manager Preston Mattingly and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, after managing partner John Middleton’s recent remarks regarding the team’s starting pitching prospects.
John Middleton declaration will make Phillies fans gush over the starting rotation’s future
Middleton expressed his enthusiasm to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki regarding the rotation’s future.
“Obviously, Aaron [Nola] and Zack [Wheeler] are older. But you think about [Cristopher] Sánchez, you think about Luzardo, you think about [Andrew] Painter. Think about those three guys and where they’ll be in four years. The pitching window is absolutely not closing. It’s not even closing an inch,” Middleton told Zolecki.
Luzardo and Sánchez, the runner-up for the 2025 NL Cy Young Award, are Philadelphia’s best alternatives going into the season. After his most difficult season in the major leagues, Nola wants to bounce back. A few weeks following Opening Day, Wheeler plans to make his season debut.
Wheeler will be replaced by Taijuan Walker until the right-hander is prepared to return. The Phillies and their supporters anticipate that Painter will be a reliable option at the end of the team’s rotation in 2026. Given the potential of the concept, there is no need to be surprised by that.
Middleton elaborated further on another pitcher whom the Phillies hope will join the roster within the next year or so, giving them another young starter in their rotation.
“And guess what? [Phillies No. 4 prospect Gage Wood] might be up in a year or two. So you could be having a fourth young pitcher up there throwing like a No. 1 or a No. 2. Time will tell. But yeah, you just keep [holding onto elite starting pitching].”
Middleton raised the comparison of how this year’s rotation, if everything works out, could mirror the club’s starters in 2011, where he believed the team was capable of winning every game due to their pitching depth:
“I think you’re looking at … when Zack comes back, if what we’ve seen from Aaron is what we’re going to get from Aaron the rest of the season, he’s really back. I mean, he hit 94 [mph] in a spring training game. So he’s stronger. He’s anxious to get back there and compete. So yeah, if those guys are doing what they can do, I’ll have the same feeling I had in ’11. Why should we ever lose a game?”
In their last two postseason losses in the NLDS, the Phillies’ starting pitchers have outperformed the batters and bullpen. With its rotation close to Opening Day, the team is in uncharted territory compared to prior seasons.
Regarding Wheeler, Nola, and Painter, there are concerns about the breadth of their rotation. However, there’s no reason why Philadelphia’s starting pitching can’t help put the team in a position to make the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season if things work out with Sánchez and Luzardo.
