Red Sox Blockbuster Trade Proposal Lands Marlins Strikeout Machine

Is this the ace Boston has been longing for?

Sep 11, 2020; Miami, Florida, USA; A general view of a illuminated Miami Marlins logo in center field after the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies split a double header at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

There are many different avenues the Boston Red Sox can explore to add starting pitching this winter, and the trade market is certainly a legitimate option.

Though there were things to like about the starting pitching for Boston this past year, the underlying theme was lack of depth. The Red Sox never really settled on a number-five starter, and they also lacked a true ace when All-Star Tanner Houck slowed down in the second half.

Though it's too early to say if the Red Sox will land the ace they covet, the likelihood of acquiring a number-one starter under team control like the Seattle Mariners' Logan Gilbert seems tenuous at best. But perhaps the Red Sox could land a starter who has shown ace potential coming off a down year.

Miami Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo would have cost an arm and a leg via trade at this time last year, but after an injury-plagued 2024 season, Miami could be willing to part with him for less. Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report discussed the likelihood that the Marlins could deal Luzardo earlier in the week.

"It's hardly a given that the Marlins will look to trade Jesús Luzardo," Rymer said. "He had oodles of value after a strong 2023 season, but less so now after a brutal 2024 campaign that resulted in him getting shut down early with a bad back."

"The 27-year-old might nonetheless be a trade candidate during the spring if he shows he's healthy in Grapefruit League play. Impact trades aren't common around that time of year, but it was notably in mid-March that the Dylan Cease deal went down."

Luzardo's value is at a low point, coming off a season where he put up a 5.00 ERA in 12 starts, then sat out the entire second half with a lumbar stress reaction. He has electric stuff when healthy, though, and trading for him now may ensure the Red Sox wouldn't have to include one of their elite tier prospects in the return package.

Perhaps that return would look something like shortstop Franklin Arias, a newly-minted MLB.com Top 100 prospect, and infielder Chase Meidroth, who is big-league ready and led the International League in on-base percentage this year.

Miami is going nowhere, and Boston has everything to gain from buying low on a pitcher who struck out 208 batters in 2023. This is a trade the Red Sox can and should make if it happens to be on the table.

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