Three potential landing spots for Jesus Luzardo

Miami Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo has been a popular trade candidate since last year. 

The Padres had reportedly targeted Luzardo as part of a trade involving Luis Arraez. While Arraez did eventually land in San Diego, Luzardo stayed put. The Royals also had interest in Luzardo, with Vinnie Pasquantino named as part of the offer. 

Luzardo has battled injuries this year. He missed two weeks due to left elbow tightness and is currently day-to-day with a stiff back. He has disappointed this season, posting a 5.00 ERA and a 1.245 WHIP over his 66.2 innings, striking out 58 batters with 22 walks. 

However, Luzardo is 26 years old and has two-and-a-half years of team control. The expectation is that the lefty will get traded - it is just a matter of where.

Let's take a look at three potential landing spots.

Baltimore Orioles

The Marlins need to find anything that could help their lineup. Meanwhile, the Orioles have a glut of prospects and not enough room for all of them. 

A deal would make sense between the two sides. The Orioles desperately need another starter with John Means and Tyler Wells being lost for the season. While the Orioles typically do not move major pieces at the deadline, adding a young arm with multiple years of team control may change their philosophy. The Orioles did move a former top prospect in DL Hall and a solid player in Joey Ortiz to acquire Corbin Burnes, indicating a potential change in approach.

Houston Astros

The Astros are likely to sell and veteran players such as Justin Verlander could be on the move. However, the Astros could look to build their rotation moving forward.

Jose Urquidy and Cristian Javier both underwent Tommy John surgery this season. Not only are both lost for the rest of the season but they will miss the majority of 2025 as well. Luzardo, with his remaining team control, could pair with Framber Valdez to give the Astros a solid 1-2 punch atop the rotation. The problem is that the Astros have one of the worst farm systems in baseball, with MLB.com ranking Houston's minor leagues 27th during the preseason. The Astros may not have enough pieces to make a deal happen.

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals attempted to remake their rotation during the offseason. Kyle Gibson, Sonny Gray and Lance Lynn were all signed to improve a rotation that ranked 26th in the majors in 2023 with a 5.08 ERA. 

Those signings have worked out but the Cardinals still need help. Miles Mikolas has not returned to the form that earned him a three-year, $55.75 million extension and Steven Matz is injured and has been a disappointment throughout his Cardinals tenure. Adding a controllable arm such as Luzardo would make sense as the Cardinals are contending for a playoff berth. However, as is the case with the Astros, they may not have the pieces necessary as MLB.com ranked their farm system 23rd to start the season.