One Trade the Dodgers Should Make to Complete the Perfect Offseason
The Los Angeles Dodgers have completely revamped their roster this offseason, adding two-way star Shohei Ohtani, right-handed pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow and outfielders Teoscar Hernández and Manuel Margot.
As general manager Brandon Gomes said on Tuesday, the front office feels good about where the roster stands heading into spring training. He also said the team is always looking for ways to improve.
The Dodgers don’t have many needs as the first day of spring training nears, but there is one clear hole in the starting rotation: a left-handed pitcher.
The Dodgers’ rotation currently consists of five right-handers — Yamamoto, Glasnow, Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan and Walker Buehler, who may start the 2024 season late as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
They don’t have a left-hander to balance out the rotation, and even if they were to bring back free agent Clayton Kershaw, he likely won’t pitch until after the All-Star break.
So, what can the Dodgers do to fill their need for a left-handed starter?
Call up the Miami Marlins and trade for Jesús Luzardo.
Jesús Luzardo Scouting Report
Luzardo, 26, is a hard-throwing left-handed pitcher, born to Venezuelan parents in Peru and raised in South Florida.
The former third-round draft pick struggled for the first three years of his career in Oakland, but has figured things out over the last two seasons in Miami.
In 2022, Luzardo went 4-7 with a 3.32 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 100.1 innings pitched over 18 starts. In 2023, he went 10-10 with a 3.68 ERA and 208 strikeouts in 178.2 innings over 32 starts.
Luzardo has a four-seam fastball that averages 97 mph and a slider, changeup, and occasional sinker and cutter. He was in the 90th percentile of fastball velocity in 2023, and the 86th percentile of whiff percentage.
Why Jesús Luzardo is the Perfect Target for the Dodgers
Luzardo makes sense for the Dodgers for a few reasons.
He’s a left-handed pitcher, still young enough to improve before he’s eligible for free agency. Luzardo also has three more years of team control before he can test the open market in 2027.
That last point may be the most important: acquiring Luzardo would not only be a move for 2024, but for the next few seasons.
A rotation of Ohtani, Yamamoto, Glasnow, Miller, Sheehan and Luzardo in 2025 and 2026 would be almost unfair, a perfect mix of velocity, strikeouts and downright nastiness.
What Would the Dodgers Have to Give Up to Get Jesús Luzardo?
Luzardo will not come cheap as a young, lefty starter with multiple years of team control. But the Dodgers have an overflowing farm system, especially on the pitching side of things.
The Marlins have a new general manager this year in Peter Bendix, so there’s no past precedent to gauge how he would (or wouldn’t) do a deal with the Dodgers. However, the Marlins could use a catcher, infielder and some young pitchers, making them a great match for L.A.
Proposed Trade
- Dodgers Receive: LHP Jesús Luzardo, LHP Tanner Scott
- Marlins Receive: INF Miguel Vargas, C Diego Cartaya, RHP Nick Frasso, RHP Landon Knack, LHP Ronan Kopp
Why This Trade Makes Sense for Both Sides
Luzardo fills all the needs previously mentioned. Scott, a left-handed reliever, upgrades a bullpen that could use another high-leverage lefty.
Scott is coming off a dominant 2023 season where he boasted a 2.31 ERA in 74 appearances, and racked up 104 strikeouts and 12 saves. He’s the exact piece the L.A. bullpen is missing, and won’t cause the front office to break the bank like they would for Josh Hader.
On the Marlins’ side of things, they’re getting the Dodgers’ No. 2 and No. 3 prospects in Cartaya and Frasso, along with Vargas, who’s ready to play at the MLB level. They’re also adding the team’s No. 9 prospect in Knack and the No. 15 prospect in Kopp.
It’s an absolute haul going back to Miami, one that will help them both in the present and future. As for the Dodgers, they would clear space on the 40-man roster and add two players that fill the two biggest needs left on the roster.
The Dodgers can stand pat this month and still boast an offseason that exceeded the wildest dreams of most fans. Or they can get two winters’ worth of work done before pitchers and catchers report to spring training by solving the final piece of their rotation puzzle.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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I don’t understand why this sort of trade hasn’t been already done by Andrew Friedman
Seriously an call righty starting staff to s not the way to go
I like the idea. The Dodgers NEED a lefty. I don’t care if it’s RYU or heaven forbid MADBUM. but we need a discount lefty. All of the starters are righties. Ohtani is right-handed. Gonsolin, May, Stone are all righties. I love the bull pen with Kelly, BAZOOKA, Trienen and Phillips (all righties). Adding another couple of lefties would be awesome!
Sure glad you guys aren’t making the Roster decisions .
Thats a lot of capital for a # 5!
why not also send Miami $50 million along with all those top prospects. Jeez. I like Luzardo but get serious.
I 100% concur!
Good trade proposal. The fact that it feels unfair from dodgers side makes me feel it’s actually realistic! Teams don’t just give away young talented starters for spare pieces, and Marlins have no incentive to trade luzardo now, so dodgers would need to ante up. If something even close to this trade happened, I would be both upset (I like a lot of those young players) but also incredibly excited!
Include CT3 & Barnes in this trade.
I wouldn’t be so quick to give up on Vargas, who has tremendous upside.
This is just too much to give up. That is a huge haul the Marlins would be getting in prospects. We are going to need these guys in a year or two years. Taylor is getting older, so is Barnes. There is no way that all of our starters stay healthy and as such we would need some or all of these guys to help out at the big league level or as pieces to trades. Instead of this I would resign Kershaw and maybe try to sign another left handed guy beyond kershaw or trade for someone who wouldn’t cost that kind of prospect haul.
That is way too much to include in that trade
Those prospects have big upside
I say we wait to see what the league does to Urias
I’d give him a 1 year Contract and Counseling
I honestly believe they need a super closer, like Hader. He may be the best there is, certainly top 5 at worst. At this point, how could $$ be the factor, given the recent contracts. They need another starter and a true 3rd baseman. Muncey is only okay there. Finally, leave Mooky in R where he belongs and excels. Dump Heyward, move Muncey to 2nd. Have to add that Turner and Bellinger would have solved a # of problems.
Just way too.much .
My initial reaction was overpay until I checked trade simulator and see it’s actually quite fair. Getting Luzardo would be a great move but I’d hate giving up Frasso.
Not both Frasso & Knack, thats too much. One of them plus a lower level prospect (Bruns?), or see if Miami would take Gonsolin or May with Frasso or Knack & the other mentioned players. But Frasso & Knack? Seems like to much to me.
The article ignores that Dustin May and Gonsolin likely will be in the 2025 and 2026 rotation. Are those two just going to be DFA’d to make room for Luzardo? The Dodgers need another starter only for 2024 and not beyond that. From 2025 on, the problem is too many starters, not too few. 1 Yamamoto, 2 Glasnow, 3 Miller, 4 Ohtani, 5 Gonsolin, 6 May, 7 Buehler [?, possible free agent loss] 8 Sheehan, 9 Kershaw [? possible retirement] 10 Stone — 10 pitchers with major league experience, ranging from Hall of Fame to All-Stars and a couple unproven but seemingly with a lot of talent; and then 11 Hurt or 12 Knack or 13 Frasso, one of whom likely would be rotation ready by 2025. What will they do with all of these guys in 2025? Will they have to give some of them away as they do when they stockpile too many talented players and have 40-man roster crunches? And then what about the guys lower down in the minors, one or more of whom may be worthy of being in the rotation by 2026 and who maybe can’t be protected from Rule V? Burnes or Bieber make the most sense [one year of control]. Cease at worst — 2 years of control. Even Cease causes a problem in 2025 of way too many very talented starters.
Dustin May? Gonsolin? Are you forgetting about them in the 2025 and 2026 rotation? Buehler? Hurt? Is a left-handed starter so important? What is better, 5 right-handed pitching starters, all All-Stars, or 3 right-handed pitchers, all-stars, and 2 left-handers, who are only league average?
Get KershAw signed right now. Who better. Make him a Dodger for his entire career. he is such a class act, and still a great pitcher. What are you waitinf for. Get it done.
Let’s get this done..Adding him to the rotation would be the icing on the cake..I think he has better upside than Urius..Man I think we could put up 120 win season and WS Champs..With This Lineup and Rotation..GET R DONE….