Marlins Pitchers Jesús Luzardo, Edward Cabrera Could Hit Trade Block This Offseason

The Miami Marlins are entering the start of a new era, meaning they might not be done selling off key pieces just yet.

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Sam Connon | Last updated Dec 2, 2024 5:03 PM ET

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand wrote an article Sunday going through one potential trade candidate from each team. While he wound up selecting starting pitcher Jesús Luzardo for the Marlins, Feinsand noted that Miami might be more interested in dealing starting pitcher Edward Cabrera instead.

Luzardo made just 12 starts in 2024 due to elbow and back injuries, going 3-6 with a 5.00 ERA and 0.9 WAR. Over the previous two campaigns, though, Luzardo went 14-17 with a 3.48 ERA and 6.1 WAR in 40 total starts.

The 27-year-old left-hander is under team control for the next two seasons. Spotrac projected him to earn $8.6 million in arbitration for 2025, which would give him the second-largest salary on the Marlins' roster.

Cabrera was equally as shaky as Luzardo in 2024, going 4-8 with a 4.95 ERA and 0.7 WAR in 20 starts. He made 36 appearances between 2022 and 2023, putting up a 13-11 record, 3.73 ERA and 3.9 WAR along the way.

The right-hander, who is set to turn 27 years old in April, is projected to make $2.5 million in his first round of arbitration this winter. Cabrera won't hit free agency until after the 2028 campaign.

For as much promise as Luzardo and Cabrera have flashed at times, they have become expendable pieces in the Marlins' ongoing rebuild. The club already dealt away former All-Star starting pitcher Trevor Rogers to the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline, and they probably won't stop there.

Former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcántara is poised to return from Tommy John surgery and reestablish himself as Miami's ace. Top prospect Eury Pérez is also set to come back from Tommy John, while Braxton Garrett is hoping to return to form after an injury-riddled campaign of his own.

Ryan Weathers is looking to build upon his 3.63 ERA and 2.1 WAR from 2024 – his first full season as a starter. Valente Bellozo made his big league debut this year, and he impressed by going 3-4 with a 3.67 ERA and 1.5 WAR across 13 starts.

Then there are top prospects Adam Mazur and Max Meyer, neither of whom have found much success during their limited time in the majors in spite of their hype. Dax Fulton and Robby Snelling could get called up to make their respective MLB debuts in 2025 as well.

That gives the Marlins seven to nine options to fill five starting rotation spots, without even counting Luzardo or Cabrera. If manager Clayton McCullough and his new staff are comfortable moving off of one or both of them, Miami could continue its teardown in short order.

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Rotation projection has Guardians adding World Series Champion pitcher

By James Mastrucci|Dec 6, 2024

The most pressing need for the Cleveland Guardians this offseason is their starting rotation. Cleveland has already lost Matthew Boyd to the Chicago Cubs, and even if they were to somehow re-sign Shane Bieber, they would be without his services for a considerable amount of 2025. This means the Guardians must absolutely add a quality arm this offseason and a recent suggestion would make a ton of sense.

Appearing as part of Joel Reuter's Predicting Every MLB Team's 2025 Opening Day Starting Rotation, Version 1.0 on Bleacher Report, it is predicted that the Guardians will bring Andrew Heaney into their pitching mix.

(Note: Shane Bieber does not make an appearance in any team's rotation prediction).

"History tells us they are not going to break the bank, but Andrew Heaney would be a nice addition if he can be had for something similar to the two-year, $25 million deal he signed with the Texas Rangers two years ago."
Joel Reuter

The rest of Cleveland's rotation would feature Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Ben Lively, and Triston McKenzie, with Heaney sliding into the second spot. This would give the Guardians a much more formidable group than what they trotted out for most of 2024 and could certainly go a long way in their efforts to repeat as American League Central Champions.

Heaney finished 2024 with a 4.28 ERA, 1.250 WHIP, and 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings, and while these may not be the most exciting numbers, it is definitely serviceable and serviceable could go a long way for the Guardians in their current state. The 11-year veteran posted similar numbers the year prior (4.15 ERA, 1.378 WHIP, 9.2 K/9), and this came during a season that resulted in the Texas Rangers winning the World Series, so this level of pitching can be beneficial in the right situation, and that situation very well could be Cleveland in 2025.

Guardians identified as potential suitor for World Series Champion pitcher

By James Mastrucci|Nov 1, 2024

With the book now closed on the 2024 season following the conclusion of the World Series, the offseason is upon us. The 29 teams that were not the last team standing will be looking for ways to get better this offseason, and if there is one area that stands out for the Cleveland Guardians, it is their starting rotation.

The Guardians were working with a pieced together on the fly and still managed to win 92 games, the American League Central, and advance to the ALCS, not bad for a pitching group that clearly overachieved their collective talent level. If they are going to match and surpass their success in 2024 next season, they will need to add at least one starting pitcher. With that in mind, it is not a surprise to see Cleveland named as a potential landing spot for Walker Buehler.

Appearing as one of 10 spots in a list compiled by Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller, Cleveland comes in at the 8 spot in Ranking Dodgers' Walker Buehler's Top 10 Landing Spots Ahead of MLB Free Agency. It is the state of Cleveland's rotation and the pitching pipeline that is tapped out currently as to why they make the list.

"With Shane Bieber out of the picture and both Logan Allen and Triston McKenzie having rough 2024 seasons, this rotation gets problematic in a hurry beyond Tanner Bibee—with basically nothing down on the farm ready to contribute any time soon, either."
Kerry Miller

Obviously, the fit makes sense, but as Miller also points out, very few expect the Guardians to spend this much money on a free agent pitcher, calling it laughable and pointing out the last time they did it was Kerry Wood all way back in 2008 (two-years $20 million). Going off past track record in this particular situation makes sense, and considering the fact that Cleveland has been able to rely on their pitching pipeline for so long, it has allowed them to do so. However, with no reinforcements on the way, they are going to have to step out of their comfort zone, and now is the time to do it.

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Cubs Sign Matthew Boyd
By Nick Deeds | December 9, 2024 at 8:25am CDT

DECEMBER 9: The Cubs made Boyd’s signing official on Saturday and Robert Murray of FanSided (X link) has the full contract details today. Boyd gets a $5MM signing bonus and a salary of $7.5MM in 2025, followed by a $14.5MM salary in 2026. There is a $2MM buyout on a $15MM mutual option for 2027. As for the bonuses, Boyd gets $100K for getting to 80, 90, 100, 110 and 120 innings pitched in each season.

Who is By James Mastrucci? ESPN? MlB? Baseball America? the Athletic? some blogger who knows as much as us?

Cubs Interested In Jesus Luzardo

By Mark Polishuk | December 14, 2024 at 1:40pm CDT

The Cubs already added Matthew Boyd to their rotation this winter but remain interested in adding another prominent name (if not someone at the top of the free agent market) to a starter group that already includes Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, and Jameson Taillon as the top three. Such trade and free agent targets as Luis Castillo and Walker Buehler have been linked to Chicago already, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the Cubs have also shown interest in Marlins left-hander Jesus Luzardo.

Reports surfaced during the Winter Meetings about some teams checking in on Luzardo’s services, as it could be that teams were investigating a buy-low possibility. Luzardo has been mentioned as a potential trade candidate even before the Marlins entered their latest teardown, and had he been healthy in 2024, it is quite possible he would’ve already been shipped off to a different team prior to the last trade deadline. Unfortunately for Luzardo and the Marlins, he was limited to 12 starts and 66 2/3 innings due to elbow problems and repeated back problems, including as a stress reaction in his lower back.

Injuries have essentially been the story of Luzardo’s career over his six Major League seasons with the A’s and Marlins. He has 512 innings pitched across parts of those six seasons, with 178 2/3 of those frames coming in 2023. Luzardo’s career 4.29 ERA includes a lot of peaks and valleys, with struggles in 2021 and 2024 undermining his otherwise above-average numbers.

The inconsistency resulted in lowering Luzardo’s price tag as he entered his arbitration years, and MLBTR projects him to earn $6MM this winter in his second of three arb-eligible seasons. If he can replicate his 2023 form, his 2025-26 salaries will be a significant bargain for the Marlins or whatever team Luzardo is pitching for, and he is only entering his age-27 season.

The upside here is obvious, except the obvious concern for any interested teams is that they don’t know what version of Luzardo will show up in 2025. This could make it hard for Miami to land on an acceptable trade package with the Cubs or any other team, simply because the Marlins naturally want to get as much as they can in return for one of their top trade chips. Waiting until the deadline might be the wiser tack for Peter Bendix’s front office, as while Luzardo runs the risk of getting hurt again, a healthy and effective first half would restore his trade value.

670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reports that Miami is looking for a “young controllable bat back” in a Luzardo deal, and suggests that the Cubs would have to give up a top prospect like Owen Caissie or James Triantos. Considering those two are both within the top 55 of MLB Pipeline’s rankings of the top minor leaguers in all of baseball, it would be bold on Chicago’s part to move Caissie or Triantos for an injury-prone pitcher coming off a 5.00 ERA season.

Then again, the Marlins scored a nice trade package for another oft-injured, inconsistent pitcher at the last deadline when they got Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers from the Orioles for Trevor Rogers. While the deal raised eyebrows at the time, it underscored the value that teams put on controllable pitching. Of course, the fact that Rogers heavily struggled after the trade to Baltimore also highlights the risk involved in such trades. The Cubs have already shown their aggression this winter by trading for Kyle Tucker, and might be willing to dip into their deep farm system again in order to make a potentially huge rotation upgrade. Assuming that the likes of Caissie or Triandos are even on the table in potential trades, Chicago might prefer to opt to move those kinds of prospects only for a more reliable pitcher.

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