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The Miami Marlins are not having a great season. Miami is currently 31-58 and at the bottom of the National League. In fact, the only team in the MLB that has fewer wins is the Chicago White Sox at 26-65. As such, the Marlins are expected to be sellers at the trade deadline at the end of July. It seems that one player who was thought to be unmovable could still be traded.
Miami Marlins lefty Jesus Luzardo is on the injured list until at least August 18th with a lumbar stress reaction in his back. However, this hasn't stopped other teams from inquiring about his availability, per USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale. Apparently, many teams believe he'd still make an impact in the pennant stretch and postseason after he recovers from his injury.
This continued interest in Luzardo is a change in the status quo. When the 26-year-old Luzardo hit the 60-day injured list, conventional wisdom said that his trade market would significantly diminish or evaporate altogether.
It is important to note that Luzardo is still under contract through 2025. Therefore, the Marlins are not necessarily forced to trade Luzardo before the end of the month if his trade value is diminished.
If Luzardo is traded, the possible return that Miami could fetch for him is a complete mystery. They may look for a similar return to what the White Sox received for Dylan Cease when they sent him to the Padres. However, the injury situation could lower any potential trade package.
The number of interested parties is likely limited as well. Not every team will be a buyer at the trade deadline, and even fewer will do so assuming that they're about to make a deep postseason run.
Which teams could be interested in trading for Jesus Luzardo?
There are a handful of teams who make sense as trade partners with the Marlins on a possible Luzardo trade.
The Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves both could make a compelling case for acquiring Luzardo at the trade deadline.
The Twins have been getting excellent play from Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan, but the rest of their bullpen is significantly less talented. Therefore, Luzardo would be a great fit because he would offer another competent option to take stress off Lopez and Ryan. Sharing the workload is always a smart strategy. Minnesota would also appreciate having cost control over Luzardo over the next couple of seasons while they make a run at the World Series.
Meanwhile, the Braves are championship contenders in their own right. Adding Luzardo would be an attempt to push their roster over the top to become an unstoppable force. However, it should be said that like in most sports teams are loathe to trade with division rivals. In this case, Miami may not care about such rivalries because they are so far away from competing. That said, they still might not want to contribute to the Braves becoming a superteam.
Finally, there's the Cleveland Guardians. Cleveland is also a contending team and they might have the best chance to provide a lucrative trade package to Miami. The Guardians could be tempted to fill the void left by Shane Bieber for the rest of the season — and see Bieber and Luzardo dominate next year.
We can't wait to see what happens at the trade deadline.
