Blue Jays: Grading reader-submitted trade proposals

I recently posted on both Facebook and Twitter that we're going to be grading some reader-submitted trade proposals in an article.

Thank you to everyone who participated, we got quite a few responses, some serious and some not-so-serious but we're going to take a look at some of the serious ones that have at least some sort of thought behind them.

Without further ado, let's get into it.

Proposal No. 1 - Submitted by Mark Armstrong on Facebook

On the surface, I don't hate this deal.

Luzardo, 25, would give the Jays another promising starter and is also quite a bit younger than Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi. Not to mention he's under team control through the 2026 season.

In parts of four seasons at the big league level, Luzardo is 13-18 with a 4.59 ERA and 91 ERA+. 2021 was a poor season for him and has done a lot to inflate his career numbers. Last year with the Marlins, he posted a 3.32 ERA in 18 starts, striking out 120 and walking 35 in 100.1 innings.

Chisholm is only 24 and emerged as one of the most exciting young infielders in the game of baseball last year. In 60 games before going down with season-ending injury, Chisholm hit 14 home runs and posted an OPS+ of 139.

The inclusion of Moreno in a deal like this would be a must for the Marlins, as the pair of Luzardo and Chisholm would ultimately be quite the loss for the club.

Pearson, 26, has shown brief glimpses of promise but has struggled to consistently stay on the field. However, now that he appears to be re-emerging as a relief option, he could offer a new set of skills for the Marlins at the back-end of their bullpen. For what it's worth, he just finished a 12-game run of 0.00 ERA-ball in the Dominican Winter League.

Espinal would also need to be included in this deal since he would effectively replace Chisholm in the Marlins' infield. In 135 games last season, he made his first All-Star Game, drove in 51 runs and was worth 2.2 bWAR along the way.

I think this trade could end up happening. If there was to be a hiccup, it'd likely be because the Marlins want another piece from Toronto. Ultimately, I do believe the Marlins are open to moving Chisholm as there were a few instances last year of some clubhouse tension between player and management/teammates.

Grade: B+