3 trades the Cardinals could make for a Marlins' starting pitcher

Derrick Goold of the Post Dispatch recently discussed in one of his chats that the Cardinals have had "talks" with the Marlins about trading for one of their starting pitchers. Miami has been a pitching hotbed in recent years, and even with the recent surgery for Sandy Alcantara, the Marlins have some surplus pitching to trade.

It is unlikely that Eury Perez and Braxton Garrett are traded, as Perez is extremely young and talented and Garrett is coming off his best year yet. However, their remaining three starting pitchers, Jesus Luzardo, Edward Cabrera, and Trevor Rogers could be appealing candidates to the Cardinals. Each of these players has his strengths, and each would require a different package in return for the Marlins.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic recently reported that Miami is listening to offers on Jesus Luzardo. The Marlins have been searching for offense these past few seasons. Since 2020, their pitching has carried them in the regular season and postseason, but the Marlins' offense hasn't been able to provide enough run support.

In 2023, Miami ranked 26th in runs scored, 20th in OPS+, and 23rd in total home runs. The Marlins were in the bottom third of the league in most offensive categories. Conversely, they had one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball last year. Given their strong season last year and their award-winning manager, it seems likely that Miami will deal from its pitching depth at some point this year to improve its offense.

St. Louis may be finished adding to their rotation for 2024, but a trade with the Marlins is very enticing. Miami needs a shortstop and a catcher next year. They could also move Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to shortstop and trade for a center fielder.

Luckily, St. Louis has plenty of talented position players at both the major league level and in the minors. They could trade from their strength to improve an already revamped rotation.