MLB Trade Rumors: Padres Interested in Marlins’ Jesús Luzardo, Luis Arráez

Adam WellsApril 3, 2024

Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins/Getty Images

Amid an 0-7 start to the season, the Miami Marlins might already be turning their focus to trading away veteran players with high value to add prospects to their farm system.

Per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin, the San Diego Padres could come calling the Marlins because they already made an offer for Luis Arráez during spring training.

Even though Arráez was a desirable player for the Padres, the report noted they were “more focused” on Jesús Luzardo at the time.

It’s unclear how much interest the Padres might have in either player now that the season has started.

Rosenthal and Lin noted San Diego’s interest in Luzardo was at a point before the team acquired Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox on March 13.

That deal cost the Padres four prospects, including three in their top 10 coming into 2024. Right-handed pitcher Drew Thorpe is a top-100 prospect who was acquired from the New York Yankees in the Juan Soto trade.

Even though the Padres have been one of the most aggressive teams with trades over the past two years, their farm system is still a strength. MLB.com’s Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo ranked it as the fourth-best system coming into this season.

That ranking came out before the Cease trade, but even if they move down a few spots because of the talent they gave up, it’s still good enough to be considered a top-10 system. They didn’t give up any of their top four prospects in the deal.

Luzardo has three years of team control remaining, including this season. The left-hander is only making $5.5 million in 2024. Arráez, who is making $10.6 million this year, will become a free agent after the 2025 campaign.

Another potential issue is the Padres spent most of the offseason cutting significant money from their payroll. After having the third-highest payroll in MLB last year ($256.05 million), they are 15th right now ($160.5 million).

While neither Luzardo nor Arráez is making a significant salary this year, would Padres ownership sign off on adding an extra couple of million to their payroll?

All of these questions are likely very premature because it’s extremely rare for a significant trade to take place this early in the season. The earliest these types of deals have typically happened over the past 15 years is in early July.

If the Marlins continue to struggle and end the month of April facing a double-digit deficit in the National League East, perhaps they go into sell mode very quickly just to avoid paying the salaries for their most expensive players.

The Padres are off to a slow start with a 4-5 record through nine games. Their interest in making any additions could be dependent on where they are in the standings by the midway point of the season.

Luzardo has allowed five earned runs with 13 strikeouts in 10.1 innings over two starts this season. The 26-year-old had a terrific 2023 with a 3.58 ERA and 208 strikeouts in 178.2 innings.

Arráez led the AL with a .316 batting average in 2022 when he played for the Minnesota Twins. He one-upped himself last season with the Marlins, leading MLB with a .354 average in 617 plate appearances.