Giants Trade Proposal Lands Starting Pitcher in a 4-Player Deal
as they chase the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the National League West and hold the second NL wild card through May 30.
But the back end of their rotation is “a question mark,” according to Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter, who proposed a trade for the Miami Marlins‘ top pitcher, Jesús Luzardo.
“Luzardo would potentially provide what they were expecting to get out of [injured starter Blake] Snell,” Reuter wrote in a May 31 story on Luzardo’s top landing spots. The Giants were No. 2 on the list, behind only the Atlanta Braves.
In Reuter’s proposal, the Giants would acquire Luzardo in exchange for first baseman Bryce Eldridge, left-hander Carson Whisenhunt and outfielder Grant McCray.
Giants Send Three Players in Exchange for Luzardo in Proposal
Three minor leaguers would go to the Marlins, but the prize for Miami would be Eldridge. He is the Giants’ No. 3 prospect and the No. 75 overall prospect in baseball.
“A two-way standout in high school with legitimate first-round potential on the mound, Bryce Eldridge has now shifted his focus solely to hitting and he has some of the best raw power of any prospect in the minors,” wrote Reuter. “The 6’7″, 223-pound teenager has a .778 OPS with five home runs and 28 RBI in 32 games as one of the youngest players in the California League.”
Reuter compared the hypothetical Marlins haul to the one the Chicago White Sox got when they traded ace Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres in March.
“It took one consensus Top 100 prospect (Drew Thorpe) and two others on the fringe (Jairo Iriarte, Samuel Zavala) along with a controllable MLB reliever (Steven Wilson) for the San Diego Padres to acquire Cease, and a similar package might be in the ballpark of what it will take to acquire Luzardo.”
Luzardo would bring another arm to the Giants’ rotation as they look to earn a postseason spot. The 26-year-old has two years of arbitration remaining and will not be a free agent until 2026, making him a likely trade candidate for the Marlins, who have the second worst record in the majors at 20-37 through May 30.
Marlins Open for Business
“Luzardo to me is the single-most likely player to be traded,” The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal said on the May 29 episode of “Foul Territory.” “The Marlins are going to keep going. They traded [Luis Arráez], they are going to trade Luzardo as long as he stays healthy.”
The Marlins traded Arráez, a two-time All-Star and batting champion, in March and have already indicated their intentions when it comes to the July 30 trade deadline.
Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix indicated the club’s thought process when asked about trading away a proven player for players with the potential to succeed.
“It’s part of the value of the player for the rest of the season when unfortunately our record is what it is and the fact is that we’re unlikely to make the playoffs this year,” said Bendix, according to the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson. “Trading that for future value seems like the right thing for this organization right now.”
Arreaz looks to be the icebreaker for the Marlins fire sale. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Tanner Scott are other names to watch. Luzardo broke out in 2023. He made 32 starts and held a 3.58 ERA. Luzardo struggled leading up to his sting on the injured list. However, in the four starts since his return, he has a 1.75 ERA.
“The 26-year-old was one of baseball’s top pitching prospects during his time in the Oakland Athletics system, and while it took him some time to find his footing in the big leagues, he took a significant step forward in 2022 before turning in a legitimate breakout season last year,” wrote Reuter.
