The only teams that love selling off their high-priced assets as much as the Miami Marlins are the Tampa Bay Rays and whatever we want to define the Athletics as these days. Miami does a great job of evaluating, drafting and developing their players for somebody else to enjoy. Lost in the another pointless rebuild, the Fish could be inclined to pivot off star pitcher Sandy Alcantara come July.
Alcantara is a two-time All-Star with Miami, having won the NL Cy Young before in his career. While he missed all of last year recovering from Tommy John surgery, Alcantara could be a viable trade asset for the Marlins should they want to go in that direction. If he can return to peak form in his first year back, it might entice some of the biggest contenders in MLB to be in hot pursuit of him this season.
The good news for any would-be trade suitor is that Alcantara is already back throwing fastballs in the upper 90s, as well as having great command of his devastating changeup. Just being able to have both of those pitches working well in unison could bolster any rotation in need of some juice down the stretch. While he will be pitching on an innings limit to start this year, he will be useful in October.
Alcantara certainly looked the part in his latest spring training start vs. Washington back on March 5.
Sandy Alcantara keeps chugging along this spring as he keeps pumping high 90s heat and his wicked changeup pic.twitter.com/huKCYthzub
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) March 5, 2025
Alcantara is under contract with the Marlins through the 2026 season and will hit free agency in 2027.
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Sandy Alcantara looks to be himself after latest spring training outing
While he may be coming off a potentially career-altering injury, Alcantara is still on the good side of 30. Many pitchers tend to return to form, if not better than they were before, after having to undergo Tommy John surgery. For any team that debates possibly trying to trade for him, they have to keep in mind that not only could be a glorified rental, but he is going to cost said team a pretty penny or two.
Miami is not going to part ways with its best player for a bag of baseballs. The Marlins will want more than adequate compensation coming back their way. It may inevitably come down to what contending teams are willing to give up more than others, possibly out of desperation. The Marlins will only sell high on Alcantara if they are given the best package in return. So who could that be?
Right now, the two teams who may have the most interest in him are the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox. Atlanta is in division, so that may complicate things. Then again, Miami is different and will trade with anyone. However, the Braves do not have a deep farm system to empty the coffer for when it comes to Alcantara. If the Red Sox play up to their standard, they are the ones to beat.
All we can hope for is for Alcantara to be pitching in meaningful baseball games down the stretch.