Houston Astros Should Monitor This Miami Marlins Star For Trade
The Houston Astros could build a solid rotation with their pitchers who are either injured or rehabbing from injuries.
Justin Verlander is gearing up for a second rehab start this week. Jose Urquidy is working his way through an elbow injury. Framber Valdez is being examined by Astros doctors for elbow soreness. Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. are rehabbing from major injuries and should be back this season.
The injuries are piling up and that may force Houston’s hand if they want to remain contenders in the American League. Perhaps not now, but closer to the trade deadline.
Right now, there is one team that is headed towards being a seller.
The Athletic's Jim Bowden wrote that the Miami Marlins' awful start means it is only a "matter of time" before that team starts trading its veteran players.
The Marlins have pitching issues of their own. Their top two starters, Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez, needed Tommy John surgery and are out for the year. Two other starters are on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.
It’s possible that by June or July, Miami are entering full tear-down mode. A contender could benefit from that, as there is one clear prize for any team interested in Marlins' talent — left-handed pitcher Jesús Luzardo.
Bowden believes that the Astros will be among a group of teams in pursuit of Luzardo this summer. While he has a losing record for his career, the left-hander is coming off a 10-10 season in 2023 with a 3.58 ERA.
There are short-term and long-term benefits of this potential move.
Luzardo will only make $5.5 million this year. He has two arbitration seasons ahead of him and cannot be a free agent until after the 2026 season. A player with this talent and this many controllable years is hard to come by.
Between his youth, arm talent and controllable years, he’s in any contender’s wheelhouse.
The question is what the cost will be to land him.
Bowden writes that Luzardo is the only player on Miami’s roster that can bring in four quality prospects in return so the Marlins can start their rebuild.
Do the Astros have those four prospects, or perhaps a combination of prospects and young Major League talent?
Houston’s circumstances later this season may force them to answer that question.
MATTHEW POSTINS
Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for Sports Illustrated/FanNation. He also covers he Big 12 for Heartland College Sports.