Phillies Acquire Jesus Luzardo
The Phillies made a big acquisition to their rotation, announcing they’ve acquired Jesús Luzardo from the Marlins. It’s a two-for-two trade sending Luzardo and minor league catcher Paul McIntosh to Philadelphia for shortstop prospect Starlyn Caba and outfield prospect Emaarion Boyd.
Luzardo, 27, is coming off something of a lost season but was among the most coveted starters available on the trade market as recently as last winter. The southpaw made just 12 starts in 2024 due to a lumbar stress reaction and struggled when he was healthy enough to take the mound with a 5.00 ERA (91 ERA+) in 66 2/3 innings of work. While Luzardo maintained a solid 8% walk rate, his 21.2% strikeout rate was far below his career norms and his fastball velocity was more than a tick below where it was in 2023.
Even with those warts, however, it’s easy to see why Luzardo would be an attractive addition to the rotation for the Phillies. In 279 innings of work for the Marlins between 2022 and ’23, Luzardo dominated to the tune of a 3.48 ERA (129 ERA+) with a 3.40 FIP. His 96.7 mph average fastball velocity was near the top of the scale for left-handed starting pitchers, and his 28.7% strikeout rate ranked eighth among starters with at least 250 innings of work in that time, sandwiched between Dylan Cease and Shane McClanahan.
While there’s no guarantee Luzardo will be able to recapture that ace-level production he flashed prior to his injured 2024 season, the Phillies won’t need to rely on him for front-end production. Instead, Luzardo joins an incredibly deep Phillies rotation that already features Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, and Cristopher Sánchez. Even a fully healthy and effective Luzardo would slot in as the #2 starter in that rotation between Wheeler and Nola, and even if the southpaw merely pitches to the peripherals (4.23 FIP, 4.33 SIERA) he posted during his injury-marred 2024 campaign he’d be a noticeable upgrade over Taijuan Walker, who pitched to an ugly 7.10 ERA in 83 2/3 innings of work this past season.
The Phillies have been known to have interest in adding rotation help this winter, though that was generally expected to come in the form of a depth piece who could pitch out of the bullpen or give Walker competition for the fifth starter spot, not unlike the club’s signing of right-hander Spencer Turnbull last winter. The acquisition of a player with Luzardo’s talent and pedigree obviously goes well beyond that, however, and surely pushes Walker into a long relief role to open the season assuming the rest of the rotation is healthy.
Adding Luzardo also eases the club’s long-term need for rotation help, as he’s under team control for the next two seasons. With Suarez scheduled to hit free agency following the 2025 season, it’s possible that the addition of Luzardo allows the Phillies to rely on some combination of Walker and top prospect Andrew Painter to round out their 2026 rotation. That would push the need for an additional starter off to the 2026-27 offseason, at which point both Walker and Luzardo himself will be eligible for free agency.
For now, though, Luzardo is a cost-controlled addition to the Phillies’ rotation who figures to raise the group’s already impressive ceiling considerably. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Luzardo for an arbitration salary of just $6MM in 2025, a figure that pushes the Phillies’ payroll to the $285MM range and their luxury tax payroll up to $304MM per RosterResource. Notably, that pushes them past the highest $301MM tax threshold for next season, at which point the club is taxed at a 110% rate on any overages beyond $301MM in addition to their highest pick in the 2026 draft being pushed back ten spots.
In terms of the actual financial cost, then, bringing Luzardo into the fold figures to cost the Phillies something closer to $10.5MM between the southpaw’s salary and the tax bill that comes with it. It’s an unprecedented level of spending for the Phillies, and it’s not clear how much more room the club will have to manuever as it seeks to make further upgrades. Perhaps that’s why president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski suggested the club was unlikely to make further major additions earlier this week, with a swingman for the pitching staff and a bench piece for the lineup highlighted as the club’s remaining priorities. The addition of Luzardo likely eliminates the need for a swingman by pushing Walker into that role, of course.
For the Marlins, the prize in this deal is Caba. Ranked as MLB Pipeline’s #81 prospect in the game and #54 at Baseball America, Caba just celebrated his 19th birthday earlier this month and looked solid in complex league play this year with a .254/.427/.335 slash line. While he offered little power, he walked more than he struck out and stole 37 bases in 45 attempts across 225 plate appearances at the level. Caba was promoted to Single-A down the stretch and struggled badly with a .179/.304/.190 slash line in 115 trips to the plate, though he still recorded more walks (16) than strikeouts (15). While he’s roundly projected for below-average power by prospecting services, he’s regarded as having the potential to be a special defender at shortstop and his impressive knack for plate discipline should give him a solid offensive floor.
Boyd, meanwhile, was the Phillies’ 11th-round pick in the 2022 draft. The 21-year-old hit just .239/.317/.331 in 400 trips to the plate at the High-A level in 2024, though he’s stolen 83 bases over the past two seasons due to elite speed and is regarded as a potentially plus defender in center field due to his wheels. That was enough to make him the #23 prospect in the Phillies organization, according to Pipeline. That said, Boyd currently offers minimal power and has a below average hit tool, though his contact-heavy approach and potential to grow into a little more power as he physically matures is enough to keep him on the radar as a potential big league contributor.
Also in the deal is McIntosh, who joins Luzardo in heading from Miami to Philadelphia. The 26-year-old isn’t considered to be much of a prospect, having been selected by the Marlins in the 34th round of the 2018 draft. He slashed .246/.340/.385 in 117 games with the Marlins’ Double-A affiliate in Pensacola this past season. For the Phillies, McIntosh should offer a solid glove-first option behind the plate to help guide the club’s young pitchers in the upper minors and perhaps provide some depth behind the club’s big league catching corps.
Robert Murray of FanSided first reported the Phillies were acquiring Luzardo. Craig Mish of the Miami Herald was first to report that Miami was acquiring Caba and Boyd. Matt Gelb of the Athletic had McIntosh’s inclusion.
Luzardo Talks Between Cubs, Marlins Have Reportedly Cooled
The Cubs have been extremely active on the trade market over the past week, but it seems their latest deal may have hit a snag. Bruce Levine of 670 The Score said on air this morning that Chicago’s talks for Marlins lefty Jesus Luzardo “appear to be dead” after having some serious momentum earlier in the week (audio link, Luzardo talk around the 2:13:45 mark). It’s not entirely clear whether the parties will seek to rekindle negotiations, but Levine suggests that medical reviews on one side or the other could have thrown a wrench into talks.
The natural inclination for many will be to presume that Luzardo’s medical records proved to be the hitch, but there’s no firm indication that’s the case. It’s every bit as possible that the Marlins took a look at medical records on one of the prospects who was a focal point in the proposed return and balked at what they saw.
Luzardo, 27, has repeatedly demonstrated front-of-the-rotation potential but hasn’t been able to consistently deliver results at that level — often due to injuries. He posted a 3.48 ERA with an excellent 28.7% strikeout rate against a sharp 7.9% walk rate in 279 innings from 2022-23 but missed time along the way due to a forearm strain. Luzardo, who had Tommy John surgery as a prospect, also spent time on the injured list early in 2024 due to elbow tightness. He returned and pitched well — 3.98 ERA over his next seven starts — only to land back on the injured list in mid-June with a lumbar stress reaction that wound up ending his season.
Luzardo has only reached 100 big league innings twice in his career and has only started more than 18 games in the majors once. Including minor league work, he topped 100 innings each year from 2021-23, but those are his only professional seasons doing so. His 178 2/3 innings from 2023 are far and away a career-high mark.
Durability concerns notwithstanding, prime-aged lefties who average around 96 mph on their heater while boasting plus swinging-strike and strikeout rates alike are rare. Add Luzardo’s at least average command into the mix, and the potential for him to emerge as a bona fide star is clear. He was a top-100 draft pick and one of the top pitching prospects in baseball prior to his debut, after all. However, keeping him healthy has been a difficult task for the A’s and Marlins alike.
Even if it was Luzardo’s medicals that held up a potential deal — and again, we decidedly do not know that to be the case — that doesn’t eliminate the possibility of a trade sending him elsewhere. We’ve seen plenty of past instances where one team backs out of a deal based on a player’s medicals while another club finds them acceptable. For instance, the Yankees reportedly nixed a trade for Jack Flaherty over the summer due to medical concerns. The Dodgers were comfortable enough making a deal and got 10 regular season starts out of Flaherty, plus another five in the postseason. Different teams have different thresholds, and everything that’s taken into consideration is done so relative to the valuation of the players going the other direction in the deal.
As for the Cubs and what might be next if the Luzardo talks can’t be revived — that’s an open question. The trade of Cody Bellinger trimmed $25MM of his $27.5MM salary from the books, giving Chicago plenty of flexibility. RosterResource estimates their current payroll to be around $174MM, with just over $191MM of luxury obligations. That puts the Cubs roughly $50MM shy of the first luxury threshold. At least on paper, that leaves room to add virtually any free agent without needing to worry about the luxury tax, though Levine pushes back strongly on the idea of Chicago making a run at Corbin Burnes.
There’s a clear need for bullpen help and a strong likelihood that the Cubs will jump into the market for some notable late-inning options. History suggests that president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer will prefer to keep any free agent commitments there to the short-term variety. Hoyer has not given out a multi-year deal to a reliever since taking over baseball operations in Chicago. Kirby Yates, old friend David Robertson and Kenley Jansen are among the older but still-effective closing options who could be had on short-term deals. If the Cubs are willing to break from their past behavior on the relief market and pursue larger-scale targets, then names like Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez currently top the market.
Cubs Interested In Jesus Luzardo
Dec. 16: Bruce Levine of 670 The Score said in an appearance on the Mully & Haugh show this morning that the Cubs and Marlins have been working on a potential Luzardo deal for some time now (audio link, Luzardo talk at 7:37am mark). Levine adds that a trade for Luzardo is something the Cubs “would really like to get done … in the next few days.”
That, of course, doesn’t necessarily indicate that a trade is close at the moment, but it’s nevertheless notable that the two parties are in ongoing discussions and that the Cubs feel strongly about trying to push something across the finish line.
Dec. 14: 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.
Marlins Fielding Interest In Jesus Luzardo
The Marlins are getting calls on starter Jesús Luzardo, reports Jon Morosi of the MLB Network (X link). Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of the Athletic write that the Fish are willing to entertain trade talks on the talented southpaw.
On the one hand, a team in a full rebuild like Miami is going to be open to discussing essentially every veteran player. Luzardo is a tough trade candidate, though, as the Marlins are shopping him while his value is at a low point. His ’24 campaign was more or less decimated by injury. Luzardo went on the injured list in the middle of April with elbow inflammation. He returned in May but was shelved again five weeks later by back issues. That not only took him off the table as a deadline trade candidate, it ended his season. Luzardo was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his lower back and couldn’t return to the mound.
Neither injury required surgery and Luzardo was able to begin non-throwing baseball activities by the end of the regular season. There’s no indication he won’t be full go for Spring Training. Still, there’s little doubt that acquiring teams are going to account for the injury risk as they weigh what to offer Miami.
Luzardo has spent a lot of time on the IL over his career. He fractured his throwing hand in 2021 and lost a good portion of the ’22 season to a forearm strain. He also has a Tommy John surgery on his medical chart dating back to high school in 2016. He has only topped 100 1/3 innings in an MLB season once.
That lone healthy campaign offered tantalizing upside. Luzardo took a full 32 turns through the rotation in 2023. He fired 178 2/3 frames of 3.58 ERA ball while punching out 28.1% of opposing hitters. He averaged nearly 97 MPH on his fastball, missed bats with both his slider and changeup, and limited his walks to a solid 7.4% clip.
That version of Luzardo was a #2 or high-end #3 starter, the kind of pitcher a team would happily plug into their playoff rotation. Luzardo didn’t show that form last year even when he was able to take the mound. He allowed five earned runs per nine with a diminished 21.2% strikeout rate in 66 2/3 frames. He still posted plus whiff rates on his secondary pitches, but his average fastball velocity dipped to 95.2 MPH and opponents teed off on it.
There’s obvious appeal for contenders to attempt to buy low. Luzardo is under arbitration control for two seasons. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $6MM salary. That’s a bargain in comparison to a free agent market where a rebound candidate like Frankie Montas signed for $17MM annually and mid-rotation arms Yusei Kikuchi and Luis Severino landed more than $20MM per season on three-year deals.
Miami doesn’t have as much urgency to make a sell-low trade. Luzardo won’t make the difference between them contending for a postseason spot or not, but a strong first half could rehabilitate his value. If he demonstrates his 2023 form for three months, Luzardo would arguably be the biggest trade chip of the ’25 deadline. In the best case scenario, Miami could realistically seek multiple Top 100 type prospects next summer. If he struggles or suffers another significant injury, of course, whatever trade value he currently has would basically evaporate.
It’s largely a matter of risk tolerance for president of baseball operations Peter Bendix and his staff. The Fish have very little on the books for next season, so they’re not under any financial pressure to move Luzardo. He’ll be the highest-paid member of their otherwise modest arbitration class. They’re still on the hook for $17MM (including an option buyout) to released outfielder Avisaíl García. The only other player on a guaranteed deal is ace Sandy Alcantara, who’ll make $17MM next year. The Marlins reportedly informed Alcantara in August that they had no intention of trading him this offseason.
MLBTR Podcast: The White Sox Fire Their Manager, Víctor Robles Extended, And The Marlins’ Front Office
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
We had some technical difficulties during this recording, so the audio is of a lower quality than usual. Apologies for that, but the source has been discovered and everything will be back to normal next week. This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- White Sox fire manager Pedro Grifol and three coaches (1:10)
- Víctor Robles and the Mariners signed an extension (6:40)
- Dodgers move Mookie Betts back to right field and Amed Rosario is designated for assignment (12:15)
- Left-hander Jesus Luzardo won’t return to the Marlins this year and the club is getting rid of several front office members (17:20)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Will Camilo Doval pitch again this season (or ever) for the Giants? (25:10)
- What ever happened to Archie Bradley this season? (29:20)
- Well, if your offense stops failing you, let the pitching failures take the spotlight! As a Braves fan, I am feeling quite trampled after all the high expectations that this season came with. Should I forget any postseason hopes? (31:00)
Check out our past episodes!
- Fallout From The Trade Deadline And Mike Trout Injured Again – listen here
- Trade Deadline Recap – listen here
- Trade Deadline Preview – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Jesus Luzardo Won’t Pitch Again In 2024
Aug. 8: Luzardo tells Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base that he is indeed done for the 2024 season and has already set his sights on rehabbing and preparing for a full season in 2025.
Luzardo acknowledged some frustration and disappointment with how the 2024 season has progressed for him. He’s still riding a bike and performing various exercises to keep in shape, but there’s simply not enough time left on the calendar for him to get back on the mound this year.
Aug. 6: Marlins lefty Jesus Luzardo hasn’t pitched since June 16 due to a stress reaction in his lower back. The team never announced a formal timeline for his return, but Luzardo was moved to the 60-day injured list just a week after his initial IL placement, suggesting he’d be down for at least two months. It now seems his absence will extend even further, as the Marlins revealed yesterday that Luzardo’s no-throw period is expected to last another six weeks (X link via Isaac Azout of Fish On First).
Miami hasn’t said as much officially, but a six-week timeline simply to resume throwing all but eliminates the possibility of Luzardo making it back to the mound before the end of the season. Six weeks from yesterday would put Luzardo on about Sept. 16 before he even picks up a ball. The regular season ends just 13 days later, on Sept. 29.
If the back injury indeed proves season-ending, it’ll close the book on a frustrating year for the talented but inconsistent Luzardo. The 26-year-old southpaw pitched to a flat 5.00 ERA in a dozen starts spanning 66 2/3 innings. He missed time early with elbow tightness that led to concerns of another major arm injury — Luzardo had Tommy John surgery in high school — but he returned strong, posting a 3.98 ERA in 40 2/3 innings between IL stints. Half the damage against him (nine of his 18 earned runs in this stretch) came in one brutal June 4 outing against the Rays. His other six starts ranged from good to excellent.
The injury complicates the outlook of a pitcher who earlier this year looked like a surefire trade candidate. Even if Luzardo had been able to come back healthy for four to five starts late in the season, that might’ve been enough to showcase his health to potential offseason suitors. It’d hardly have been an ideal platform year, but other clubs could’ve felt reasonably confident they’d be getting a healthy version of the pitcher who from 2022-23 pitched 279 innings of 3.48 ERA ball while punching out nearly 29% of his opponents with a walk rate that sat a bit better than average.
Instead, teams eyeing Luzardo will have to factor in not only the early elbow issue but also the back injury that torpedoed his season. That previously referenced 2022-23 production is still alluring, as are the remaining two years of club control over Luzardo, but the health risk will be just as great a focus (if not greater).
Marlins president of baseball ops Peter Bendix and his staff will need to weigh offers this winter against what they think they could theoretically receive in a midseason deal. It’s possible, if not likely, that a healthy version of Luzardo in June/July could command more than the offseason version with significant health concerns — even though in the offseason Miami would be peddling two full seasons of club control as opposed to 1.5 seasons next summer. The Tigers went down a similar path with fellow lefty Matthew Boyd several years ago, fielding offers at multiple deadlines and through multiple offseasons while injuries continued to impact his stock. They ultimately wound up non-tendering Boyd in 2021 and losing the left-hander for nothing.
Holding Luzardo into the 2025 season could carry similar risk, but the front office also surely wants to avoid taking what’s perceived as a light package — only to see Luzardo bounce back with a healthy first half in 2025. It’s a fine line to walk and will be one of the most complex decisions for the Miami baseball operations staff this winter.
Marlins Unlikely To Move Jesus Luzardo, Bryan De La Cruz
The Marlins are open to offers on center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. and will have multiple bullpen pieces available in the next three weeks, but they’re not planning to move anyone and everyone on the roster. Craig Mish of the Miami Herald reports that the Fish aren’t going to move lefty Jesus Luzardo until he’s fully healthy again, which likely points to an offseason trade or even a deal at next year’s deadline. Mish adds that Bryan De La Cruz and Jesus Sanchez are both likely to stay in South Florida as well. De La Cruz has already drawn interest, but he and Sanchez are both controllable through the 2027 season.
With regard to Luzardo, the notion of holding onto him is rather straightforward. The talented 26-year-old is on the 60-day injured list due to a stress reaction in his lower back. That 60-day term will extend beyond the July 30 trade deadline. Trading Luzardo right now would require selling low, and for a pitcher of his caliber with two remaining seasons of club control, that’s not a palatable course of action. It’s likely possible that a club could still obtain Luzardo by blowing the Marlins away with an offer commensurate with that of one for a healthy Luzardo — but it’s also highly unlikely a team would make that type of offer with Luzardo ailing.
Beyond that, the southpaw simply didn’t pitch up to his capabilities prior to landing on the shelf. Perhaps that back injury played a role, and Luzardo also had a brief IL stint for some elbow tightness early in the season. Whether he’s been fully healthy at any point this season isn’t clear, but the lefty has been tagged for a 5.00 ERA in 66 2/3 frames.
It’s an unflattering mark, though a 21.2% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate are both portents for some improvement. And it’s of course important to emphasize how good Luzardo was in the two prior seasons; the former third-round pick who once rated as the sport’s top left-handed pitching prospect started 50 games and notched a 3.48 ERA with a huge 28.7% strikeout rate and sharp 7.9% walk rate in 279 innings from 2022-23. He averaged 96.7 mph on his heater in those two years, though this year’s average fastball dipped to 95.5 mph — still a strong mark but a red flag for a pitcher who hasn’t been at his best.
If Luzardo is able to return from his back injury in the second half and close out the year in good health, then offseason interest should be robust. He won’t turn 27 until Sept. 30, still boasts a power arsenal, is only earning $5.5MM this season and is controlled through 2026 via arbitration. That type of pitcher should command a significant prospect haul — the type that’s extremely unlikely to be available when Luzardo is on the 60-day IL and questions about his ability to recover from this back injury persist. Luzardo has reportedly continued to draw interest while on the injured list, but it’s safe to presume the offers aren’t close to what they’d be if he were healthy and performing as he did in 2022-23.
As for the pair of outfielders, neither is a household name but both De La Cruz and Sanchez have shown some upside with the bat in the past. They’re both having below-average seasons at the plate in 2024 but have roughly average batting lines in their careers to date. De La Cruz is 27 years old. Sanchez is just 26.
De La Cruz is hitting .237/.286/.410 this season (94 wRC+). He’s popped 15 home runs and is on pace for a new career-high, but his 26% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate both offset some of that solid power. Sanchez is hitting a comparable .239/.291/.386 (92 wRC+) with nine home runs. He strikes out a bit less (23.6%) and walks at a similar 5.8% clip. Both players have notable platoon splits. The left-handed-hitting Sanchez is batting .270/.323/.445 against righties but just .091/.130/.159 against lefties (albeit in only 44 plate appearances). The righty-hitting De La Cruz has hit lefties at a .288/.318/.464 pace but floundered to a .210/.269/.380 line against righties.
There’s a case for the two to simply be platooned, and perhaps on a deeper roster that’d be how they’re utilized. But the Marlins are thin on outfielders as it is, and trading one or both Sanchez and De La Cruz — likely at a fairly low rate — would only further expose that deficiency. With three seasons of remaining club control apiece, there’s no urgency to move either. A big second half or strong start to the 2025 season could increase the trade value of either player.
Sanchez, in particular, has displayed some tantalizing batted-ball metrics that could signify the potential for growth. He’s averaged a whopping 93.5 mph off the bat this season with a huge 51% hard-hit rate. Those figures rank in the 96th and 94th percentile of MLB hitters, respectively. It’s also worth noting that current Marlins president Peter Bendix knows Sanchez well from his prospect days in the Rays system, where Bendix previously served as general manager. (Although that also means that Bendix was in the Tampa Bay front office when Sanchez was traded for Nick Anderson and Trevor Richards.)
NL East Notes: Schwarber, Harper, Luzardo, Arcia
The Phillies were shut out in today’s 6-0 loss to the Braves, dropping Philadelphia to a respectable 5-4 record in its nine games without injured sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. The good news is that at least Schwarber will be activated from the 10-day injured list for the Phils’ next game on Tuesday, and Harper seems on track to be activated at some point this week, even if Tuesday is still up in the air for the former NL MVP.
Both players ran the bases prior to today’s game, with MLB.com reporting that Schwarber has now been running at full intensity for two straight days, while Harper was running “either at or close to 100% intensity.” Schwarber was sidelined with a groin strain and Harper with a hamstring strain, so baserunning is essentially the final step in assessing whether either player is fully ready to return. While neither injury was thought to be overly serious, it is obviously a great sign for the Phillies that the initial assessment seems to be accurate, so the team won’t have any longer-term concerns about two key members of their everyday lineup.
More from around the NL East…
- Even though Jesus Luzardo is on the 60-day injured list, teams are still checking in with the Marlins about the left-hander’s availability, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes. Luzardo’s initial IL placement took place on June 19, so he won’t be back until August 18 at the earliest as he recovers from a lumbar stress reaction. If Luzardo was indeed able to return around that date and return in good form, there would be plenty of time for the southpaw to contribute to a contender for the remainder of the season, yet naturally his health situation would make for some tricky trade negotiations with Miami. From the Marlins’ perspective, it is hard to imagine they would agree to sell low on one of their top trade chips, especially since Luzardo is still under team control through the 2026 season.
- Orlando Arcia entered today’s action hitting .209/.245/.332 over 314 plate appearances, and with the lowest wRC+ (58) of any qualified hitter in baseball. It has been an ugly dropoff for a player who had roughly a league-average 101 wRC+ for the Braves in 2022-23, and Arcia was even an All-Star last season after moving into the starting shortstop role. Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that the Braves are seemingly okay with letting Arcia try to find himself at the plate, since he is at least continuing to deliver strong glovework at the shortstop position. While Atlanta has been aggressive in promoting prospects in recent years, Toscano doesn’t think the team is considering bringing the hot-hitting Nacho Alvarez up to the majors as a potential replacement for Arcia, as Alvarez only just made his Triple-A debut last month.
MLBTR Podcast: Injured Trade Candidates, The Cristopher Sánchez Extension And Blue Jays’ Woes
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The injuries to Patrick Sandoval of the Angels as well as Jesús Luzardo and Braxton Garrett of the Marlins, and the potential impacts on the trade deadline (2:30)
- The Phillies and Cristopher Sánchez sign an extension (11:45)
- The Blue Jays lose Orelvis Martínez to a PED suspension, on top of other struggles (18:45)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- “What would it take for the Rockies to consider trading some young assets like Ryan McMahon or Brendan Rodgers?” (23:55)
- “The Astros are clearly out of it, so why isn’t Ryan Pressly a top target of teams with bad bullpens?” (30:35)
- “Would the Marlins or Nationals trade with the Mets, Phillies or Braves, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Lane Thomas being good fits?” (39:25)
- “Will T.J. McFarland of the Athletics be traded to the Cubs or another contender?” (47:45)
Check out our past episodes!
- José Abreu’s Release, Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto Hit The IL And Even More Injuries – listen here
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Marlins Place Braxton Garrett On 15-Day Injured List With Forearm Flexor Strain
The Marlins announced several roster moves this morning, headlined by the club placing left-hander Braxton Garrett on the 15-Day injured list with a left forearm flexor strain. The club also optioned right-hander Shaun Anderson to Triple-A. Taking Garrett and Anderson’s spots on the club’s active roster will be right-hander Kyle Tyler and left-hander Kent Emanuel, both of whom had their contracts selected. Left-hander Jesus Luzardo and right-hander Edward Cabrera were both transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear space for the duo on the 40-man roster.
Garrett’s placement on the injured list isn’t necessarily a surprise, as the club had already scratched him from today’s start due to elbow soreness yesterday. With that being said, the diagnosis of a forearm flexor strain is a concerning one that suggests Garrett could be in for a lengthy absence, though details about his exact timeline are not yet available. For Marlins fans, it surely brings to mind September of last year, when the Marlins provided the same diagnosis for right-hander Sandy Alcantara before the ace ultimately required Tommy John surgery.
Fortunately, not all forearm strains require such drastic treatment. Nationals right-hander Josiah Gray suffered a similarly-termed strain back in April that ultimately proved to be purely muscular without damage to the UCL. Gray is currently on a rehab assignment and could factor into the Nationals’ pitching plans prior to the All Star break, roughly three months after the initial injury. A similar timeline could see Cabrera return sometime in September, prior to the end of the 2024 campaign.
Regardless of when Cabrera winds up being able to return to the club, however, the Marlins figure to be in a bit of a pickle as they look to piece together their rotation mix. Miami currently has seven starters on the injured list, leaving them with lefty Trevor Rogers, righty Roddery Munoz, and righty Yonny Chirinos as their only three established starting pitchers. That trio will be joined by Tyler, who is slated to start today’s game against the Mariners. A 20th-round pick by the Angels in the 2018 draft, the righty has made eight multi-inning relief appearances in the big leagues since he first made his MLB debut back in 2021, though he’s never started a game at the big league level.
He’s pitched fairly well in his limited opportunities in the majors with a 2.45 ERA and 4.36 FIP in 18 1/3 innings of work. That includes a single appearance with the Marlins earlier this year where he allowed one run in two frames where he allowed one hit and no walks with one strikeout. It’s unclear if Tyler will continue to pitch as part of the club’s rotation after today or if this is a spot start for the 27-year-old. Also joining Tyler on the active roster is the lefty Emanuel, who has been shuttling between the 40-man roster and the minor leagues all throughout the 2024 campaign for the Marlins. In 8 1/3 innings of work for the club this year across four appearances, Emanuel has struggled to a 7.56 ERA with an 8.19 FIP. Nonetheless, the southpaw will provide the club with a multi-inning option out of the bullpen who could piggyback with the right-handed Tyler if necessary this afternoon.
As for Luzardo and Cabrerea, the 60-day IL placements come as a mild surprise for both players. In Luzardo’s case, the lefty was placed on the IL just yesterday with a lumbar stress reaction, and manager Skip Schumaker suggested that injury typically has a 4-6 week timeline. Now that Luzardo is out for at least the next two months, it’s safe to say the Marlins believe he’ll be out for longer than that general timeline. He’ll first be eligible to return from the shelf in late August. Cabrera’s placement also somewhat surprising given the fact that he’s already built up to the 50-pitch range on a rehab assignment, though given the fact that the righty would be eligible to be activated from the shelf in just two weeks it could be a purely procedural transaction.