The Philadelphia Phillies are on the cusp of securing a playoff spot in the National League Wild Card race.

With six games remaining, they are four games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are on the outside looking in on the Wild Card race. The Phillies are also within reach of the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, as the seeding could come down to the final day of the regular season.

It will certainly be interesting to see how things unfold. The sooner a playoff spot is secured, the sooner interim manager Don Mattingly can set up his pitching rotation for the postseason.

Starting pitching has been the strength of Philadelphia all season long. It is why they landed at No. 3 in the MLB playoff rotation rankings done by Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. However, that strength is going to be tested with the availability of Jesus Luzardo in question.

Phillies rotation ranking is high without Jesus Luzardo

McDaniel listed Luzardo as the No. 2 option behind Cristopher Sanchez. A few weeks ago, there would have been no argument against that. But things have changed drastically for the Phillies since Luzardo was scratched from his start against the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 12 and placed on the injured list a few days later.

Dealing with stiffness in his left throwing shoulder, the team didn’t believe the injury was overly serious. But they are now in a race against the clock to get him ramped up to the point that he can take the mound in a Major League game.

The last time that Luzardo took the mound was Sept. 7, when he threw a complete-game shutout against the Braves in the best start of his career. He started his throwing program on Sept. 20, playing catch at Citi Field a few hours before Philadelphia defeated the New York Mets.

At this point in time, it is anyone’s guess what Luzardo’s role with the team will be. Optimism is on the rise that he will be able to get on the mound in the postseason, but it may not be as a starting pitcher.

Phillies need Jesus Luzardo contributing in any way possible

The Phillies are weighing all options, and he could be deployed out of the bullpen. The relief staff has struggled mightily and would certainly benefit from having Luzardo as an option; maybe he can operate as a multi-inning option behind Aaron Nola to keep him stretched out should the team advance and he is able to start down the road.

Having the dynamic lefty available in any fashion will be a boost for the team. If he isn’t in the starting rotation, their ranking will be impacted negatively because Philadelphia is lacking any reliable options beyond Nola and Andrew Painter to replace him.

Sanchez and Zack Wheeler are as good as a one-two punch as any team in baseball possesses; it was having Luzardo, another ace-level performer this season, that truly separated them from the pack.

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