A Cardinals-Marlins trade if they persist on Jesus Luzardo deal

Earlier in the year, there were some rumors that the Miami Marlins were almost guaranteed to trade their ace, Jesus Luzardo, ahead of the trade deadline. Many were skeptical of these rumors because of Luzardo's two additional years of team control on his contract.

These rumors were largely put to bed when Luzardo landed on the injured list for the foreseeable future. With him still on the injured list, many would expect him to stay in Miami, but this injury hasn't stopped teams from actively making attempts to inquire about his availability, with the St. Louis Cardinals being one of the teams reportedly still looking into his availability.

If the Cardinals stay persistent in this pursuit, the Marlins could be open to dealing him to St. Louis as a late season addition to the 2024 Cardinals. Luzardo remains under team control in 2025 and 2026 as well.

A Cardinals-Marlins trade to bring the injured Jesus Luzardo to St. Louis

The Marlins absolutely should not, and likely won't, budge on Luzardo's value just because he's injured. He's a young, controllable ace and he should be treated as such in the trade market. The Marlins will only be open to dealing him if they get the exact same value that they would have if he was healthy. Anything less and they have the option to hold onto him.

As stated above, this trade would need to be massive. Anything less and this hypothetical makes no sense for the Marlins. Think about the package that the Cincinnati Reds got for Luis Castillo a few seasons ago. That's a comparable start to Luzardo's value.

The package of Victor Scott II, Tekoah Roby, Zack Showalter and Chen-Wei Lin would be enough to get the Marlins interested, potentially getting the deal done in one call.

Scott and Roby headline the deal, being two incredible prospects in the Cardinals system. Scott is a big league ready outfielder that needs a few small tweaks and some confidence before he's a big league regular. Roby flashed incredible potential in his first three professional seasons, but has struggled this year. He could use a fresh start with a new coaching and development staff.

Showalter and Lin are more of lottery ticket prospects, both in the back half of the Cardinals top 30 prospects. Lin has looked good in his first 20 professional starts, but he is still a ton of polishing away from a big league debut. Showalter has the potential to fly up the minor leagues, despite only being 20 years old, because he's a reliever and a dominant one at that.

The idea now is that the Marlins will hold onto Luzardo. But the Cardinals need a player that moves the needle down the stretch. If they want to be in the postseason and not watching from their couches, they need a huge move. Luzardo is that huge move and he comes with the security in his contract to make this deal a realistic one.