Philadelphia Phillies star pitcher Jesus Luzardo will not participate in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. During a recent appearance on MLB Network, Luzardo explained the reasoning behind his decision.
“For me, it was obviously a tough decision,” Luzardo said. “For me, it's super important to represent Venezuela, my family is from there. But, it was a tough decision, going off a career-high in innings last year and a career-high in workload. Looking forward to a free agent year, I thought it was the most intelligent decision to kind of bypass the Classic unfortunately.
“It was something, again, super hard and super difficult decision. But I felt like it was the most intelligent one. So, hopefully in three or four years I'm able to do it again and represent Venezuela.”
Luzardo had a strong 2025 season. As he mentioned, he did record a career-high in innings with 183.2. His 32 starts were tied for his career-high as well.
While Luzardo's 3.92 ERA does not stand out, he did finish the year with a career-best mark of 216 strikeouts. The left-hander would surely like to improve his ERA in 2026, but he certainly won't complain about his strikeout total from a season ago.
Another thing Luzardo mentioned was the fact that 2026 represents a contract year for him. The Phillies and Luzardo recently agreed to an $11 million contract for 2026 to avoid arbitration. The 28-year-old is planning to do everything he can to have a big 2026 campaign. Pitching well this season will be crucial as he prepares for free agency next offseason.
Passing on the World Baseball Classic was clearly a “tough decision” for the Phillies star pitcher. Perhaps he will land a long-term deal next offseason and be able to pitch in the next WBC.
