Over the last week, rumors have been circulating about Miami Marlins pitcher Pablo Lopez.
After the team signed veteran right-hander Johnny Cueto, it’s looking very likely that they may try to trade Lopez.
The St. Louis Cardinals are a team that has had discussions with the Marlins about Lopez, per Ken Rosenthal.
They have a clear need for starting pitching, with four of their five current starters not under contract after 2023.
However, one Cardinals fan posted a warning message on Twitter about the dangers of dealing with the Marlins, citing the Marcell Ozuna trade as a recent trade with Miami that the Cardinals got the short end of the stick on.
The thing that worries me about the Cardinals going after Pablo Lopez is the last time they tried to get a Marlins player Miami pulled a bait and switch and got a Cy Young winner out of it and then ended up traded the one STL actually wanted to our division rival where he won MVP
— Quinn (@QuinnSTLCards) January 17, 2023
Of course, Miami acquired right-handers Zac Gallen and Sandy Alcantara from St. Louis in that deal.
Gallen is now with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but has emerged as a frontline starter.
Alcantara is the reigning National League Cy Young.
Ozuna only lasted two seasons in St. Louis before his departure for the Atlanta Braves.
Needless to say, that deal did not work out too well for the Cardinals, and fans rarely hesitate to say as much.
St. Louis could have had a stacked rotation.
Instead, the Marlins got the better end of the deal, leaving Cardinals fans frustrated.
Granted, Lopez won’t warrant quite as big of a haul, but the Cardinals do need to be careful when deciding who to trade in order to acquire him, should they go that route.
St. Louis does need some pitching though, and acquiring Lopez wouldn’t hurt.
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