The Oakland Athletics have acquired OF Starling Marte and cash from the Miami Marlins in exchange for LHP Jesus Luzardo.
This is a classic, one-for-one baseball trade. The low-budget A’s do not have enough money to take on Marte, a rental who is owed about $4 million. So, to get Miami to take on all of that money, they had to trade a key piece. Marte can do just about everything, except hit for power. He is a high on-base outfielder who is very fast and great defensively. This year, Marte has five outs above average in center field. With Ramon Laureano in center for Oakland, Marte could replace Stephen Piscotty in right. Overall, he is a huge addition to their lineup.
Marte, 32, has hit seven home runs with a .407 OBP, 22 stolen bases, and an .859 OPS in 274 Plate Appearances for the Marlins this year. In his MLB career for Miami, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Arizona Diamondbacks, Marte has hit 121 home runs with 271 stolen bases, a .345 OBP, and a .795 OPS in 4510 Plate Appearances.
Man, the Marlins knocked this one out of the park. They traded a package led by Caleb Smith at last year’s deadline for Marte and now deal him for Luzardo. The left-handed pitcher was at one point a top-10 prospect in the game for many but has struggled in between the rotation and bullpen this year. He throws a hard fastball but batters also have a .388 wOBA against him this year. Luzardo still got Rookie of the Year votes in 2020 and has a promising future with many years left of team control. We will see if the Marlins decide to keep him or flip him.
Luzardo, 23, has a 6.87 ERA with 40 strikeouts and a 1.632 WHIP in 38 innings for the A’s this year. In his MLB career, all for Oakland, Luzardo has a 4.79 ERA with 115 strikeouts and a 1.330 WHIP in 109 innings.
CarterHud 