With the most coveted free agents off the board as Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto both signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, teams in search of pitching have turned to fallback options, which could include a pair of Miami Marlins pitchers.
On the free agent market, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery remain available, but the mid-tier group of starters have been finding deals quicker, most notably Lucaas Giolito signing with the Boston Red Sox, Marcus Stroman joining the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants signing Jordan Hicks and converting him from a reliever role.
On the trade market, not as much has developed outside the Dodgers acquiring Tyler Glasnow from the Tampa Bay Rays. The Chicago White Sox have been discussing Dylan Cease deals all offseason, and the Cleveland Guardians have made Shane Bieber available as well.
While it remains to be seen if either of them get dealt, another pair of arms are on the block. According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the Marlins are open to trading Jesús Luzardo and Edward Cabrera:
While Cease and Bieber have seemingly been on the trade block for the whole winter, a source said the Marlins have been open to discussing deals involving Jesús Luzardo and Edward Cabrera.
The Marlins willing to trade either arm would present a significant shakeup to the starting pitcher market. Both Luzardo and Cabrera are intriguing options with elite stuff, team control and youth on their side.
Luzardo is coming off a strong season where he posted a 3.58 ERA, 3.55 FIP and 1.21 WHIP while striking out 28.1% of hitters and walking 7.4% across 178.2 innings.
The 26-year-old is not a free agent until after the 2026 season.
Cabrera did not have a strong season in 2023, but possess electric stuff. In 99.2 innings, the 25-year-old pitched to a 4.24 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.44 WHIP and struck out 27.2% of hitters while walking 15.2%.
Cabrera is not a free agent until after the 2029 season.
Both would be quality trade targets for the Dodgers as they search for one more starting pitcher, but trading Michael Busch to the Chicago Cubs may make it more difficult to line up on a deal with Miami.
The Dodgers are more likely to sign a free agent swingman-type pitcher if they add another arm, or they can choose to rely on their prospects, including Nick Frasso, River Ryan and Landon Knack.
What would the Marlins want in a trade?
The Marlins are stacked with young pitching, but they lack quality hitting options and prospects. If they were to trade either, they would likely be looking for an impact bat to add to their lineup or high-end MLB-ready hitting prospects.
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