Miami Marlins SP needs an extension

The Miami Marlins are in a good position... a Wild Card spot is right there for the taking. The Fish also have a pretty good starting pitcher (to say the least), in Jesus Luzardo. It's Luzardo that is the subject of this article. As Sandy Alcantara is struggling to repeat his Cy Young campaign from last season, The Fish especially need Luzardo to step up. He seems to be doing just that. Should Kim Ng reward him with an extension?

The Miami Marlins need to extend Jesus Luzardo.

Jesus Luzardo is 25 years old and is a free agent after the 2026 season. He's currently worth 1.2 WAR and has a 3.67 ERA/3.68 FIP, with 10.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 11 games and 61.1 innings pitched. I fully expect him to get closer to his 2022 form. What is his 2022 form? Oh nothing special, just a 3.32 ERA/3.12 FIP with 10.8 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. He did this in 11 games and 100.1 innings pitched. While all of the attention was on Sandy, Luzardo was quietly emerging as an ace as well.

Jesus Luzardo wasn't as impressive in 2019-2021, with the Oakland Athletics and a half season with the Miami Marlins. During this injury-filled time, Luzardo had a 5.36 ERA/4.82 FIP in 43 games and 166.1 innings pitched. It's a bit odd to think about now, but at one point Luzardo looked like an injury-prone bust with the Oakland Athletics. It all obviously changed once he was traded to The Fish.

What can we get out of all of this? The good news are that he's young and has turned into a top of the rotation starting pitcher. He has an elite strikeout rate and a decent walk rate. The negatives are obviously his injury history, and the fact that he's never pitched more than 100.1 innings in a season. That injury history is definitely a concern that will limit his earning potential. Maybe he'll be interested in an extension because of that?

There's no reason for the Miami Marlins not to afford him, it's a matter of Bruce Sherman being willing to let Kim Ng pay him. He's making $2.45 million this season, would $23 million be enough for his three upcoming arbitration seasons? Can he be valued at around $15 million a free agent season? Would 7 years/$75 million get it done? 8 years/$90 million? What do you think?