An Orioles-Marlins trade to keep other contenders at bay for an ace

The AL East is a two-team race between two of the best teams in the MLB. The New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles are both dominant franchises that haven't really pulled away from each other in 2024.

For one of them to pull away, they may need to make some moves before the trade deadline. Baltimore has more prospect capital to be able to do this comfortably, putting them in perfect position to go out and make an expensive trade for one of the game's best young pitchers, Jesus Luzardo.

Jesus Luzardo is regarded as the "single most likely player to be traded" at this year's deadline, according to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal.

An Orioles-Marlins trade that creates a dominant ace duo in Baltimore

A trade for an ace like Jesus Luzardo is going to be expensive. It'll cost a team one of their top prospects, if not two of their top ten prospects. Throw in the fact that Luzardo is under team control for 2.5 more years and the idea of trading for him becomes quite expensive.

The package of Coby Mayo and Chayce McDermott should get this done though, as the package is headlined by Mayo, baseball's 20th-ranked prospect.

Mayo is a truly generational talent with incredible power. He looks ready to slot in for the Orioles here in the near future, but if they need to move him to acquire Luzardo, they will do it. First base is an expendable position that they can slot anybody in defensively. Offensively, it would be hard to recreate the power that Mayo produces.

McDermott is an electric pitching prospect that has the potential to join a big-league rotation in the near future. He's been dominant in the minor leagues and he's beginning to outgrow the lower levels of baseball. His fastball-slider combo is one to behold in Triple-A.

There may not be a team in the big leagues that can put together a more impressive package of two players for Jesus Luzardo. This package would absolutely get the deal done, on Miami's end, as it sets them up for the future a bit better with two game-changing prospects.

Baltimore would be comfortable making the trade as well. Their farm system is still absolutely loaded and losing these two would hurt, but they would be adding a 26 year old ace to their rotation.

Both teams could make sense of this deal. It sends the Marlins on a fast track on their rebuild, giving them two high potential, high floor prospects. It would help push the Orioles past the Yankees in the AL East, a spot they so desperately desire.