For a moment it almost felt like the Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins were on the verge of completing a trade involving left-handed starting pitcher Jesús Luzardo. Following the Kyle Tucker trade, national baseball insider Bob Nightengale first mentioned the Cubs’ interest in Luzardo. Bruce Levine added more fuel to those rumors as he repeatedly reported how hard the team was working to get a trade done for Luzardo, but as of Wednesday night trade talks between the Cubs and Marlins appear to be dead.

Levine was on 670 The Score and gave a surprising update after it seemed like it was only a matter of when not if the Cubs traded for the Marlins’ lefty.

— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) December 19, 2024

The Marlins had reportedly been asking for Cubs outfield prospect Owen Caissie in trade discussions involving Luzardo. Caissie, 21, was added to Chicago’s 40-man roster this offseason and is currently ranked No. 2 in the Cubs’ farm system, No. 34 in MLB Pipeline’s top-100 list. Infield prospect James Triantos, No. 5 in Cubs system and No. 55 overall, was also one of the players being talked about in discussions between the Cubs and Marlins.

Cubs and Marlins talking deal for starter Jesús Luzardo. Marlins want young controllable bat back.James Triantos or Owen Cassie would likely be in the deal. @BNightengale first to report Cubs interest.

— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) December 14, 2024

While I do like Luzardo’s high ceiling in the rotation, he was a top-20 starting pitcher in 2023, the left-hander has a long track record of injuries and his 2024 season ended on June 16. Luzardo suffered a lumbar stress reaction and by early August the pitcher announced that he would miss the rest of the season because of the back injury.

I would have been fine with the idea of trading Triantos for Luzardo, but of course as many fans have expressed, trading Caissie didn’t seem worth it. Who knows, maybe the Marlins were demanding Caissie in their trade talks and didn’t move off their asking price. There’s also the chance that the Cubs already had a deal in place, but may have gotten a bad medical report on Luzardo.

Prior to Wednesday night’s appearance from Levine on 670 The Score, the local baseball insider joined the Mully & Haugh Show in the morning and speculated that something may have come up when looking into Luzardo’s health.

“They’ve been talking to the Marlins about Luzardo for a couple weeks now. We thought they were pretty close over the weekend, but Luzardo had a back issue at the end of last year that shelved him for the last couple months of the year. We don’t know right now, but, you know, maybe the medicals didn’t show up right.”

— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) December 18, 2024

ESPN’s Jesse Rogers and The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney have also confirmed the Cubs real interest in trading for Luzardo this week, so we’ll see if they or other reporters back Levine’s most recent insight that talks for Luzardo are now dead.

The Cubs have been adamant that they will try to add another starting pitcher this offseason. The trade route seems to be their preferred option, but the Cubs have reportedly kept free agent Walker Buehler on their radar as well. Even with Cody Bellinger’s salary mostly off the books, I would not expect the Cubs to be players for Corbin Burnes.

They could be pivoting back to the Seattle Mariners, who the Cubs had been in trade talks with leading up to the Winter Meetings. The San Diego Padres are said to be listening on Dylan Cease, although the cost for him would be steep, similar to the Tucker trade. Jared Jones has recently popped up in trade rumors as the Pittsburgh Pirates have reportedly kept an open mind on potentially trading their young pitcher. However, I wouldn’t hold my breath on the Cubs and Pirates hooking up on a trade of the magnitude.

Let’s see what direction the Cubs go now in their search for another rotation arm or if talks resume with the Marlins down the road.