The Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres are two franchises at opposite ends of the spectrum in the National League. The Padres are among the league's biggest spenders and have seemingly gone all-out in pursuit of a first World Series title. The Marlins have done the opposite, selling big-name talent at every available opportunity. The two clubs already made a deal for Luis Arraez in May; is pitcher Jesus Luzardo the next Miami player to make the move to San Diego.

With Sandy Alcantara on the sidelines with Tommy John surgery, Luzardo has become the team's ace and a valuable trade piece for the floundering franchise. The Padres pursued Luzardo ahead of spring training, only for the team to acquire Chicago White Sox starter Dylan Cease. But with Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove on the IL, the club needs more starting pitching depth if it wants to contend in the National League.

Here is the perfect trade offer the Padres should make to the Marlins to acquire Jesus Luzardo.

Scouting Jesus Luzardo

A talented left-hander, injuries have hampered Jesus Luzardo's career thus far. The Peruvian pitcher had Tommy John surgery before even pitching a minor league inning while spending meaningful chunks of the 2021 and 2022 seasons on the IL. When healthy, Luzardo has been a borderline All-Star for the Marlins. The 26-year-old had a 3.48 ERA across 2022 and 2023 while striking out 10.6 batters per nine innings. He had a rough start to the 2024 campaign but bounced back with a 1.75 ERA in May.

Luzardo's arsenal includes a four-seamer, slider, change-up, and the occasional sinker. The slider has been his best pitch, with opponents batting just .192 against it this year while whiffing 48.0% of the time. His change-up is also much-improved, with a whiff rate also above 40%. Any club that acquires the lefty will have control of him through the 2026 season.

Padres' Jesus Luzardo trade offer

Padres receive: SP Jesus Luzardo

Marlins receive: RHP Dylan Lesko (SD #3 prospect), LHP Austin Krob (SD # 9 prospect), C Brandon Valenzuela (SD # 11 prospect), RHP Stephen Kolek

When San Diego acquired All-Star infielder Luis Arraez from Miami in May, the Padres sent their #6, #9, and #13 prospects to the Marlins, plus Korean reliever Woo-Suk Go. The package required to obtain Jesus Luzardo will likely be similar, if not more significant. Luzardo has one more year of team control than Arraez and has yet to reach his MLB ceiling as a starting pitcher.

Miami's haul for Arraez was mostly hitters, as San Diego parted with three minor league batters and a reliever in exchange for Arraez. This time, the Marlins will want to replenish their arms. Dylan Lesko is San Diego's top right-handed pitching prospect, and though he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022, Lesko showed great swing-and-miss stuff during his first pro campaign in 2023. The Marlins also get lefty Austin Krob. Krob is on the older side for a prospect at age 24 but is an effective groundball pitcher with a great sweeping slider.

The lone Major Leaguer the Marlins acquired is reliever Stephen Kolek. A couple of blow-up outings hurt his ERA (5.58), but the rookie has largely been an effective pitcher for the Padres this season. Kolek had a 1.50 ERA in 17 appearances from March 30 to May 11. Lastly, the Marlins get catcher Brandon Valenzuela. Valenzuela does not offer much power, but he excels at getting on base and is an above-average defender. With three catchers in their top 11 prospects, the Padres can afford to let Valenzuela go.

Will this deal be enough for the Padres to acquire pitcher Jesus Luzardo? Given the haul the Marlins got for Luis Arraez, the trade will put San Diego in firm contention for Miami's left-handed ace.