Chicago Cubs 'Working Hard' on Trading For Miami Marlins Pitcher Jesús Luzardo

The Miami Marlins and Chicago Cubs have reportedly been discussing a trade involving starting pitcher Jesús Luzardo for a few days now, but nothing has come together yet.

Mar 1, 2024; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo (44) throws a pitch in the first inning of the spring training game against the Philadelphia Phillies at BayCare Ballpark. / Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs are "working hard" on a trade for staring pitcher Jesús Luzardo with the Miami Marlins, 670 The Score's Bruce Levine reported Monday afternoon.

Levine first reported that the Cubs and Marlins were discussing a Luzardo trade on Saturday. At time time, he mentioned that Miami was looking for a controllable bat in return for the 27-year-old southpaw.

Top prospects Owen Cassie and James Triantos were brought up as potential pieces that could head back to the Marlins, but it remains to be seen how the asking price for Luzardo has shifted over the course of the negotiations. Cassie and Triantos are ranked No. 2 and No. 5 in Chicago's farm system, respectively, while ranking No. 34 and No. 55 in all of baseball.

Luzardo was already drawing trade interest at the Winter Meetings, and his name had been popping up in rumors all offseason long. USA Today's Bob Nightengale first reported that the Cubs were interested in Luzardo last Friday, after they had traded for Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker and officially signed backup catcher Carson Kelly.

Cubs working hard on Jesus Luzardo deal with Marlins.They could have four lefties in their rotation. Luzardo made $5.5 mil in 2024. He has two years of arbitration before free agent status in 2027.

— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) December 16, 2024

The Cubs signed veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd to a two-year, $29 million contract earlier this month, replacing Kyle Hendricks after he departed for the Los Angeles Angels in free agency. That seemingly rounded out Chicago's rotation for the time being, slotting Boyd in behind Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad.

Perhaps the Cubs are looking to trade one of those starters, or move Assad back to the bullpen, as the Luzardo talks come in the wake of their reported interest in Garrett Crochet. While Assad had a 1.49 ERA through his first nine appearances, the 27-year-old righty posted a 4.83 ERA after May 16.

Luzardo didn't perform much better in 2024, going 3-6 with a 5.00 ERA, 1.245 WHIP, 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.9 WAR across 12 starts. He missed time with elbow and back injuries and did not pitch again after June 16.

Between 2022 and 2023, however, Luzardo went 14-17 with a 3.48 ERA, 1.151 WHIP, 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a 6.1 WAR across 40 starts. The left-hander has two years of club control remaining, and Spotrac has projected him to net $8.6 million in arbitration for 2025.

The 27-year-old southpaw is presumably viewed as relatively expendable in Miami, considering former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcántara is poised to return from Tommy John surgery. Eury Pérez and Braxton Garrett are looking to bounce back from injuries as well, while Ryan Weathers and Valente Bellozo will try to build off their promising 2024 campaigns.

Edward Cabrera, Max Meyer and Adam Mazur are in the mix as well, giving the Marlins eight starters to work with beyond Luzardo.

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