For the second time, Phillies pitcher Jesus Luzardo has rejected a request from Team Venezuela to pitch in the WBC. Luzardo had been asked to join the Venezuela roster prior to the start of the WBC and decided instead to stay in training camp with the Phillies rather than leave camp to pitch as part of Team Venezuela. With Venezuela reaching the semifinals, the team again reached out to Luzardo, whose parents were natives of the country.

The invitation would have worked from the standpoint that Luzardo would have pitched in the WBC championship Tuesday night, which is right in line with his pitching turn, if the team goes that far. They would need to defeat Italy, the Cinderella of the tournament, to reach the championship game. Instead, Luzardo looked at all that would be involved and the fact that he recently signed a five-year deal with the Phillies and decided to stick around in Clearwater instead.

“They (the Phillies) just made a big commitment to me and my family and I’m committed to them and getting ready for the season,” Luzardo told Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia on Sunday. “Especially getting so close to opening day, it would have been a whirlwind.”

Jesus Luzardo – 2025
WAR W L ERA GS IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP BB9 SO9 SO/BB
3.9 15 7 3.92 32 183.2 167 85 80 16 57 216 1.220 2.8 10.6 3.79

It’s not clear if the Phillies would have granted Luzardo the opportunity to leave camp, but their general policy is to not block players from participating in the WBC. Luzardo also told Salisbury that the Phillies want to be sure he gets the innings that they want him to get in the spring and that may have been altered had he pitched for Venezuela.

Luzardo, 28, signed a five-year, $135-million deal with the Phillies this spring. The deal kicks in next season after his current deal runs out.

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