Marlins' top trade deadline candidate Jesus Luzardo sidelined with concerning injury

You'd be hard-pressed to find a team more ravaged by the injury bug than the Miami Marlins. Their team which had one of the best and deepest pitching staffs in the majors entering the 2024 campaign, has been completely decimated and we're not even one full month into the season.

Sandy Alcantara was already out after undergoing Tommy John Surgery in October. Their co-ace, Eury Perez, hurt his elbow in Spring Training and also required Tommy John Surgery. This doesn't even include guys like Edward Cabrera and Braxton Garrett who opened the year on the IL. That's 80 percent of their projected Opening Day rotation right there. The lone survivor was left-hander Jesus Luzardo.

Luzardo is a budding star in his own right as he posted a 3.58 ERA in 32 starts and 178.2 innings of work last season. The 26-year-old was looking to take another step forward in 2024 but got off to a slow start and is now hurt. Luzardo is dealing with elbow discomfort which caused him to be scratched from his scheduled start on Friday. This is yet another major blow for this Marlins team that is seeing its season hit rock bottom before its really started.

Jesus Luzardo is the latest Marlins pitcher to suffer what could be a major injury

Anytime you hear elbow discomfort, the first reaction is always Tommy John. We've seen so many pitchers recently go down with elbow injuries that require Tommy John Surgery or some sort of major procedure. Luzardo is not on the IL yet, but almost certainly will be. Marlins fans can only hope it is a short stint, but it's hard to not fear the worst, especially after seeing what happened with Alcantara and Perez.

The Marlins season was already practically over with the team sitting at 6-20 on the year and with their two best players, Alcantara and Perez, out for the season, but having Luzardo healthy was at least some sort of silver lining. He could continue to pitch well for this Marlins team or he could become an extremely enticing trade candidate when the deadline rolls around. If this injury is major, both of those possibilities are immediately wiped off of the board.

Luzardo is a player who had found his name in trade rumors over the course of the offseason as Miami is in desperate need of some offense and some prospects. They have one of the worst offenses in the majors and one of the worst farm systems as well. A Luzardo trade would've hurt, but it would've helped them replenish one, if not both of those issues.

He would've commanded an enormous haul given his age, success, and team control. Now, if this injury is a major one, he can be crossed off of all trade lists. Whether the Marlins were going to trade him was something we would've found out in a couple of months, but now there's a good chance that they won't have the opportunity to consider it.

What was already looking like a wasted year for the Marlins looks even worse now with Luzardo's season in question.