Getty Cubs president Jed Hoyer
At some point this season, it could make sense for the Cubs to cash in on their considerable trough of valuable prospects to add a player who can help them now, given the general weakness of the N.L. Central, the strength of the Cubs’ offense and the organizational depth the team has amassed under Jed Hoyer.
Future value in terms of prospects is fine, but a surefire chance at winning now when the opportunity presents itself has value, too.
But Bleacher Report is asking Cubs fans, even those who only casually follow the team’s well-built farm system, to swallow hard. With the chance to pluck ace lefty Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins, a team that has opened the season with a faceplant and is said to be nearing a fire sale, the Cubs could bolster a rotation badly in need of immediate help.
The cost? Well, just three of the franchise’s Top 5 prospects, that’s all.
Owen Caissie, Matt Shaw Figure in Cubs’ Near-Term Plans
Yes, in putting together a potential trade for Luzardo, who is 26 and will hit free agency in two years, B/R put forth a proposal that would gut the upper echelon of the team’s prospect chain. Here goes:
“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)”
Hard to say what would be the toughest loss to swallow of the three. Caissie is 21 and is coming off a year in which he posted a .918 OPS in Class AA Tennessee last year. Shaw is 22 and was the Cubs’ first-round pick last year, quickly rising to play 15 games in Class AA before the end of the year. He had a combined 1.018 OPS in three stops last year.
That’s a tough duo to part with. Caissie was tabbed one of the “10 players scouts are buzzing about” this spring at ESPN, and might have made the team if not for the Cubs’ crowded outfield picture. Shaw, too, has a clear future in Chicago—he’s seen as the long-term third-base solution, assuming Christopher Morel is not up to the job.
Alcantara, who is 6-foot-6 and only 21, has upside, but is a long way from having an impact at the major-league level. He’s the only one of the three that it would not sting badly to lose.
Jesus Luzardo Just Might be Worth It
But then there is Luzardo, and given the Cubs’ starting pitching situation, he might be worth the hefty cost the Marlins would seek for him. Ace starting pitcher Justin Steele is injured (hamstring), and will not be back this month.
No. 2 starter Jameson Taillon (back) is scheduled to return within 10 days or so. It would not be worth coughing up Shaw and Caissie for Luzardo if he was a short-term fix, but the thing is, he could be around a while.
Luzardo has the potential to compete for the ace role with Steele going forward—either way, they’d be a pair of dazzling lefties at the top of the rotation. Since becoming a consistent starter for the Marlins in 2022, Luzardo has a 14-17 record with a 3.52 ERA in 50 starts, and was seventh in the National League with 208 strikeouts in 2023.
He is off to a so-so start in 2024, allowing a 4.35 ERA in two starts, giving up just 10 walks and hits in 10.1 innings, but allowing a costly home run in each of his starts. Still, Luzardo is ace material, and if the Marlins put him on the market, the cost will be high. Maybe too high for the Cubs.