Elephant Rumblings: Jesús Luzardo comes to town

Happy Wednesday, Athletics Nation!

I was all-in on Jesús Luzardo as the A’s next ace a few years ago. I dreamed of the devastating one-two punch that he’d make in tandem with fellow top prospect A.J. Puk.

But Puk kept getting injured and his prospects of becoming top-of-rotation arm dimmed. And then Luzardo, despite flashes of brilliance and undeniably good stuff, lost his ability to locate and broke his hand by angrily slamming it on a table while playing a video game in a display of questionable maturity.

Luzardo posted a 6.87 ERA in 38 innings with the A’s last season before being dealt to Miami for Starling Marte in what was widely regarded as a brilliant win-now move for an A’s team that seemed poised to contend in the postseason for a fourth consecutive season.

That plan didn’t quite pan out. But that’s another story that you probably aren’t eager to revisit.

Today, Jesús will take the mound against the A’s for the first time. Yesterday, John Shea at the San Francisco Chronicle recalled Luzardo’s ups and downs in Oakland and Miami. Luzardo continued to struggle in Miami after the trade: his ERA remained high at 6.44 in 13 starts for the Marlins through the remainder of the 2021 season.

But The Lizard shows signs of improvement this season. He missed 2½ months due to a forearm strain, but his line is much shinier across 10 starts.

• Luzardo, 2022: 3.44 ERA, 52⅓ IP, 65 Ks, 21 BB, 5 HR, 3.08 FIP, 3.15 xFIP

I’m happy to see Luzardo’s fortunes turning around, and I wish him continued success—except for today. Game starts at 12:37 PT, Cole Irvin on the mound for the A’s. Let’s go, Oakland!

A’s Coverage:

• Ashford: Game #124: A’s ensure series loss, fall to Marlins 5-3
• Schmidt: Elephant Rumblings: Are there any 2023 free agents the A’s could be interested in?
• Shea: Marlins’ Jesús Luzardo to face A’s for first time since trade ($)
• Franco: Reds, Stephen Piscotty Agree To Minor League Deal
• Rubin: Best friends Mike Yastrzemski and Tony Kemp start a new tradition ($)

MLB News & Interest:

• Polishuk: Arte Moreno Exploring Possible Sale Of Angels
• Buchanan: MLB Rising Prospects: Mets’ Mark Vientos is hot, Twins’ Austin Martin is back
• Rosenthal: The new Justin Verlander — Those closest to Astros ace have seen him evolve ($)
• Franco: Fernando Tatis Jr. To Undergo Shoulder Surgery
• Franco: Nationals Designate Tyler Clippard For Assignment
• Franco: Walker Buehler Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
• Polishuk: Red Sox Place Nathan Eovaldi, Eric Hosmer On Injured List
• Simon: Which Teams Are Positioning Their Infielders Best?
• Polishuk: Cardinals Re-Sign T.J. McFarland
• Today in Baseball History

Best of Twitter:

Lots of former Athletics coming to town.

Good luck to Stephen Piscotty in Cincy.

On our watch. :-\

Don on Rickey.

#10 of the legendary 20.

Roster moves.

Clarke has been a highlight reel in Lansing.

Psst...John Fisher...