3 of the best trades the SF Giants can make to upgrade the starting rotation

3 of the best trades the SF Giants can make to upgrade the starting rotation

3. Jesús Luzardo

Another pitcher the SF Giants could target via trade is left-handed Miami Marlins pitcher Jesús Luzardo . Like Burnes and Cease, there has been reporting that Luzardo’s name has come up in trade talks.

2023 was a solid season for Luzardo. He had a 10-10 record with a 3.58 ERA in 32 games started. He also had an impressive 208 strikeouts in 178 and 2/3 innings pitched.

Luzardo features impressive breaking stuff and at the age of 26, he still has a lot of upside as a guy who could evolve into a frontline starter if he is not there already. He also has 3 years of club control remaining which means he could factor into a team’s plans for years to come.

He would immediately be a great addition to the San Francisco Giants' pitching staff and would slot in nicely after Logan Webb in the number 2 slot in the rotation. 

However, like Burnes and Cease, it will not be easy to acquire him. The Marlins will want a hefty return especially since he has so many years of team control remaining. The Marlins are not necessarily in a position where they need to move the five-year veteran, but given his age and the fact that he has multiple years of team control, they could receive a massive haul.

All three of these starting pitchers would make the Giants a better team in 2024. As it seems like they may need to be a pitching and defense first team if they want to compete going forward, it would make sense for the Giants to target one or more of these pitchers to turn their pitching staff into an elite one.