Potential Luis Arraez, Jesús Luzardo Landing Spots amid MLB Trade Rumors

It's very early in the 2024 MLB season, but not too early to anticipate the summer trading season revolving around Luis Arraez and Jesús Luzardo.

Such is the gist of a Wednesday report from Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of The Athletic, who wrote that Miami Marlins general manager Peter Bendix "almost certainly will be more inclined to dismantle his roster" if a course correction doesn't follow after an 0-8 start.

If so, Arraez and Luzardo could become shiny trade chips in more than just the abstract.

The former? He's a two-time batting champ with a .323 lifetime average who'll turn 27 years old on Tuesday, and he's under team control through next season.

The latter? He's a left-hander with a 3.51 ERA over the last three seasons. He won't turn 27 until Sep. 30, and his club control runs through 2026.

Any team that would trade for either player should be prepared to pay a high price. And it's with this mindset—as well as an assumption that the hitting-starved Marlins would mainly want bats—that I'm about to pitch five landing spots and trade proposals for each player.

But first, some honorable mentions.

Note: All prospect ranks are according to MLB.com.

For Luis Arraez

Boston Red Sox

With a 26.0 strikeout percentage so far this season, the Red Sox could use a bat-to-ball hitter like Arraez. But Vaughn Grissom won't be out forever and he deserves to show what he can do.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Though Gavin Lux is only 5-for-25 with one extra-base hit, the Dodgers can try other in-house options at second base (e.g., Chris Taylor, Enrique Hernández or Miguel Rojas) before they look to the trade market.

Pittsburgh Pirates

There's a great, big question mark hanging over second base in Pittsburgh, but it's hard to imagine the Bucs sacrificing prospect capital for just a year-and-a-half of Arraez.

For Jesús Luzardo

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds are a match for Luzardo in the sense that they have an iffy rotation and a very good farm system, but there's a catch: Said system is mostly dominated by arms these days.

Detroit Tigers

Tarik Skubal and Luzardo in the same rotation sounds like fun, and Detroit has the system to pull it off. But with the Tigers only having just pulled out of a rebuild, the timing isn't quite right.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals' new-look rotation is not off to a good start, but at least they have Sonny Gray coming back soon. One is also skeptical whether they have the assets to get Luzardo.

Current Second Baseman: Edouard Julien

Current Leadoff Hitter: Edouard Julien

Arraez returning to Minnesota felt like a long shot when I pitched the concept on March 11. But now? Less so.

There's a big hole in the Twins' infield by way of Royce Lewis' severe right quad strain, which is expected to keep him off the field until sometime after June. In the meantime, Julien is 3-for-20 with one walk.

This is where Arraez could help, though re-acquiring him would force the Twins to shift some pieces around.

Arraez would likely play first base in deference to Julien at second base, which would bump Carlos Santana to designated hitter. This all works on paper, but the DH spot would then be less open to Byron Buxton, who can't play center field on an everyday basis anymore.

Trade Proposal: Minnesota Twins get 2B Luis Arraez; Miami Marlins get OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (MLB No. 41, Twins No. 3), OF Gabriel Gonzalez (MLB No. 75, Twins No. 4)

The Twins parting with such a package to get a player they don't necessarily need is a reach, but the Marlins accepting this deal is not. Save for Jazz Chisholm Jr., they don't have much in the way of present or future hope for their outfield.

Current Second Baseman: Thairo Estrada

Current Leadoff Hitter: Jung Hoo Lee

With 36 runs scored through seven games, getting runners across home plate hasn't been the Giants' biggest issue.

Still, Estrada's offensive viability is a concern. He came into this year with only a .315 OBP for his career, and it's only gotten lower as he's gone 4-for-27 with no walks out of the gate.

Arraez would be an upgrade at least to this extent, and he would also be another option at first base. The Wilmer Flores-LaMonte Wade Jr. platoon that the Giants are currently using is solid, but both can also play other positions.

The hard part would be deciding whether Lee or Arraez would be better in the leadoff spot, but it's not like the Giants could lose as long as both are in front of Jorge Soler, Michael Conforto and Matt Chapman.

Trade Proposal: San Francisco Giants get 2B Luis Arraez; Miami Marlins get LHP Carson Whisenhunt (MLB No. 79, Giants No. 3), 1B Bryce Eldridge (Giants No. 4)

Marco Luciano is the Giants' best position player prospect, but it's doubtful they would part with him. The acceptability of this package for Miami might therefore hinge on Eldridge, who's going to try to make it as a slugging first baseman after giving up pitching.

Current Second Baseman: Nolan Gorman

Current Leadoff Hitter: Brendan Donovan

Donovan is doing just fine in the leadoff spot, but it's past time for the Cardinals to do some soul-searching on whether Gorman is a workable regular at the keystone.

He started hot last year, but his last 388 plate appearances have seen him hit just .225 while striking out at a 33.8 percent clip.

True, the Cardinals have the option of sticking with Gorman until Tommy Edman is back from wrist surgery. But he's more of a defense-first guy even in the best of times, and it's on offense where the Cardinals are really hurting in 2024.

Notably, they're batting just .226 with an MLB-high 83 strikeouts. There's no better medicine for these afflictions than Arraez, who has seven fewer strikeouts than walks for his career in addition to a career average that's never gone below .300.

Trade Proposal: St. Louis Cardinals get 2B Luis Arraez; Miami Marlins get C Iván Herrera, INF Thomas Saggesse (Cardinals No. 4)

This swap would arguably favor the Cardinals, who would only lose their backup catcher while keeping their three best prospects. The appeal for Miami would nonetheless be Herrera's potential, as he's a 23-year-old with a career .865 OPS at Triple-A.

Current Second Baseman: Cavan Biggio

Current Leadoff Hitter: George Springer

There were concerns coming into the year about whether the Blue Jays had enough offense, and it hasn't taken long for these to bear out.

They got no-hit on Monday and are otherwise hitting an American League-low .176 for the season. The infield is not helping, as neither Biggio nor Vladimir Guerrero Jr. nor Bo Bichette nor Isiah Kiner-Falefa is off to a warm start.

Then there's the 34-year-old Springer, who's unfortunately beginning to look washed. After hitting .258 with a .327 OBP in 2023, he's at .120 and .267 at the outset of this season.

Arraez would stand to be an upgrade as a table-setter for Guerrero and Bichette, potentially setting Toronto up to have a powerhouse front three if those two ever got going.

Trade Proposal: Toronto Blue Jays get 2B Luis Arraez; Miami Marlins get INF Orelvis Martinez (MLB No. 85, Blue Jays No. 2), SS Arjun Nimmala (Blue Jays No. 3)

This isn't an especially strong sampling from a farm system that's weak in general, but it would offer the Marlins a nice mix of near- and long-term upside. Martinez hit 28 home runs in the high minors last year, while Nimmala only turned 18 last October.

Current Second Baseman: Jorge Polanco

Current Leadoff Hitter: J.P. Crawford

After their offense ranked second in MLB in strikeout rate in 2023, the Mariners understandably had a goal for the winter: add contact hitters.

So much for that.

Though the Mariners did rearrange their offense, they nonetheless find themselves in the No. 1 spot for strikeout rate at 30.2 percent. Their hitters have whiffed at least eight times in all seven of the games the team has played.

This plus Crawford's struggles out of the leadoff spot (i.e., .233 OBP) make it that much easier to see Arraez as a potential godsend for Seattle. To accommodate him, Polanco could either move to third base or Arraez could simply supplant Ty France at first base.

Trade Proposal: Seattle Mariners get 2B Luis Arraez; Miami Marlins get C Harry Ford (MLB No. 37, Mariners No. 2), 1B Tyler Locklear (Mariners No. 8)

Ford enters into this conversation in part because he's looking up at Cal Raleigh, but also because Miami has been weak at catcher ever since J.T. Realmuto left town. For his part, Locklear projects as a more or less standard power-hitting first baseman.

No. 1 Starter: Nestor Cortes

Other Starters: Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil

The Yankees are off to a 6-1 start, but that's more so despite their rotation than because of it.

While it does have a 3.53 ERA, in tandem with that are 37 hits and 14 walks over 35.2 innings. The .264 average Yankees starters have allowed barely ranks ahead of that of Cardinals starters.

With Rodón, especially, still not resembling the guy the Yankees paid $162 million for, there's going to be a need for a proper No. 2 starter even after Gerrit Cole returns from his elbow injury. That's supposed to be on or around June 1.

This is where Luzardo would fit in, and he would further help the Yankees' rotation do something it's currently struggling to do. At 18.7 percent, its strikeout rate is the fourth-lowest in MLB.

Trade Proposal: New York Yankees get LHP Jesús Luzardo; Miami Marlins get OF Spencer Jones (MLB No. 80, Yankees No. 2), SS Roderick Arias (MLB No. 82, Yankees No. 3), OF Everson Pereira (Yankees No. 6)

Despite loads of interest, the Yankees refused to part with Jones over the winter. Yet it's hard to imagine them getting Luzardo without doing so. With Jasson Domínguez still recovering from Tommy John surgery, the 6'6", 235-pound Jones is easily the most attractive prospect in New York's system right now.

No. 1 Starter: Yu Darvish

Other Starters: Joe Musgrove, Dylan Cease, Michael King, Matt Waldron

Also in Rosenthal's and Lin's report on the Marlins is a nugget that the Padres "made a strong offer" for Arraez during spring training.

Two things, though: How Arraez would have fit in the Padres' infield is anyone's guess, and the team was apparently "more focused" on Luzardo anyway.

This was notably before they acquired Dylan Cease, but there's still more of a fit in San Diego for Luzardo than there is for Arraez. Whereas the club's infield is as full as can be, another starting pitcher would further supercharge what's already an elite rotation.

Luzardo would also be an insurance policy for Musgrove. His return from a shoulder injury is not going well, as diminished velocity is but one warning sign lurking below his 6.28 ERA.

Trade Proposal: San Diego Padres get LHP Jesús Luzardo; Miami Marlins get C Ethan Salas (MLB No. 8, Padres No. 1)

This is only conceivable because the Padres already have a good catcher in Luis Campusano, who boasts an .871 OPS over his last 56 games. It's still a reach, though, and I'm not convinced there's another feasible offer the Padres could make the Marlins for Luzardo.

No. 1 Starter: Tyler Glasnow

Other Starters: Bobby Miller, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Gavin Stone, James Paxton

The Dodgers' starting rotation is already good, and chances are it's only going to get better.

Said rotation boasts a 3.15 ERA as well as 45 strikeouts and only two home runs allowed in 40 innings. And over time, it stands to get boosted by Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin coming back from injuries.

The Dodgers are nonetheless worth thinking about for Luzardo for two reasons.

One, because they can never be counted out on any upgrade. And two, there's still a question of how many innings the guys listed above are going to eat on an individual level. That's less of a concern with Luzardo after he logged 178.2 innings in 2023.

Trade Proposal: Los Angeles Dodgers get LHP Jesús Luzardo; Miami Marlins get INF Miguel Vargas, C/1B Dalton Rushing (MLB No. 71, Dodgers No. 1), OF Josue De Paula (MLB No. 99, Dodgers No. 4)

Vargas has become something of a forgotten man, but he's been raking (1.255 OPS, 3 HR) at Triple-A to begin the year. Rushing would otherwise have more of an avenue in Miami than he does in Los Angeles, where he's looking up at Freddie Freeman and Will Smith.

No. 1 Starter: Kyle Hendricks

Other Starters: Jordan Wicks, Shōta Imanaga, Javier Assad

It's ordinarily Justin Steele who sits atop the Cubs' rotation, but he joined Jameson Taillon on the injured list when he strained his hamstring on Opening Day.

These two won't be out forever, but concerns that could linger include Hendricks' disappearing/reappearing effectiveness and whether the Cubs need another top-of-the-rotation starter if they want to go far in October.

Luzardo fits that bill, and it doesn't hurt that he's been effective against both of the big powerhouses in the National League. Against Atlanta and Los Angeles, respectively, he has career ERAs of 3.52 and 3.48.

Otherwise, maybe the Cubs will go after Luzardo simply because they can. They have the best farm system in the NL, and it contains more position players than they have room for.

Trade Proposal: Chicago Cubs get LHP Jesús Luzardo; Miami Marlins get OF Owen Caissie (MLB No. 45, Cubs No. 3), INF Matt Shaw (MLB No. 51, Cubs No. 4), OF Kevin Alcántara (MLB No. 61, Cubs No. 5)

This is a lot of prospect talent, but it's not so much that it outweighs two-and-a-half years' worth of a proven top-of-the-rotation starter. And for Miami, it would be especially appealing that all three of these guys figure to be ready either this year or in 2025.

No. 1 Starter: Corbin Burnes

Other Starters: Grayson Rodriguez, Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer, Cole Irvin

The Orioles' trade for Burnes was surprising in more ways than one, including for how little they had to sacrifice from what's easily the best farm system in the league.

They thus left themselves plenty to barter with in future trades, including one for Luzardo if they ultimately decide they need another arm.

This is by no means a given. Baltimore's Burnes-led rotation is off to a good start with a 3.71 ERA, and it should only be a matter of weeks before Kyle Bradish and John Means are back off the injured list.

Even then, though, the Orioles' rotation could still need an impact starter of Luzardo's caliber. And if they were to get him, this team would be more than just the favorite to win the American League East.

Trade Proposal: Baltimore Orioles get LHP Jesús Luzardo; Miami Marlins get 3B/1B Coby Mayo (MLB No. 29, Orioles No. 3), OF Heston Kjerstad (MLB No. 31, Orioles No. 4)

Even without roping Jackson Holliday into this, it's saying something that the O's could part with Mayo and Kjerstad and still be left holding their two best prospects. Both could step in right away in Miami, potentially helping to ward off a protracted rebuild.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.