Miami Marlins make a surprisingly major trade

Rumors about the trade have been swirling the last few weeks. We even thought of different trade ideas, but it's finally happened. The Miami Marlins have traded starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo to the division rival Philadelphia Phillies for SS prospect Starlyn Caba, catching prospect Paul Mcintosh and OF prospect Emaarion Boyd. So... how does this trade look like?

The Miami Marlins have finally traded Jesus Luzardo.

It may be a bit of a weird time for the Miami Marlins to have traded Jesus Luzardo. After being a solid arm in 2022 and 2023, pitching to a 3.48 ERA/3.40 FIP, with 10.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 50 games and 279.0 innings pitched, he was subpar in 2024. Due to injury, he pitched to a disappointing 5.00 ERA/4.26 FIP, with 7.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 12 games and 66.2 innings pitched.

It surely looks like The Fish have sold low on a potentially good trade piece. I never had an issue with trading him, due to his proximity to free agency and his health issues over the years. I am however confused a bit about the potentially weak return for him. My guess is that maybe his health issues are worse than thought, as that was supposedly why the Chicago Cubs pulled out of their own trade talks to acquire him.

The star of the return is SS prospect Starlyn Caba. He is in the top 100 MLB prospects, topping out at #54 on the Baseball America list. He has great plate patience and walks more than he strikes out. He's also an elite defender. The downside is he doesn't have much power and is more of a contact hitter. He's also 19 and in Single-A.

CF Emaarion Boyd was the #23 prospect in Philly's system. He has elite defense and speed, but not much hitting ability. He's 21 years old and is also in Single-A. Finally, catcher Paul McIntosh is another great defender, but is already 26 years old.

It looks like a surprisingly weak return for the Miami Marlins at this time, but it is indeed possible that Jesus Luzardo is not very healthy. The Philadelphia Phillies got better and will be competing for the division title with the Atlanta Braves next season.