The Chicago Cubs have an offense capable of winning the World Series, but their pitching, particularly with their starting rotation, is a concern. With that in mind, it'd make sense if recent reporting from The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal ($), suggesting that the Cubs are interested in Sandy Alcantara, got Cubs fans excited. Alcantara's latest outing proves that trading for the Miami Marlins' ace might not be as much of a no-brainer as Cubs fans thought.
Facing off against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Alcantara allowed seven runs on 10 hits in six innings and departed the game with the Marlins trailing 7-3. Obviously, that kind of outing is not good enough for a team vying for World Series contention.
Alcantara had been pitching better lately, but this clunker against an elite Diamondbacks offense shows that he simply isn't worth going all-in for.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Sandy Alcantara proves he's still searching
Alcantara was once one of the best pitchers in baseball, but he missed the entire 2024 campaign recovering from Tommy John Surgery and got off to a miserable start to the 2025 season. He had allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last four outings after beginning the year with an 8.47 ERA through 11 appearances giving fans hope that he had turned a corner, but this start against the Diamondbacks was ugly.
Sure, perhaps it was just a blip, but are we sure Alcantara ever turned a corner? Three of his four starts during his promising stretch came against teams ranked 24th or lower in runs scored this season. The only exception is the Philadelphia Phillies, a team that has ranked 19th in runs scored in June. Alcantara has taken advantage of struggling offenses, which is encouraging, but right when he had to face an elite unit, he faltered.
Come postseason time, virtually every offense a team like the Cubs will face will be an elite unit. Can they really trust him to be the frontline arm they desperately need? It's really hard to make that argument considering how this season has gone.
A Sandy Alcantara Cubs trade is hard to justify
Trading for Alcantara is going to cost a lot more than a guy who now has a 6.98 ERA on the season, realistically should. I get that he was once elite, and his contract isn't massive, but the Cubs would be trading for a pitcher they hope finds his form rather than one having a good or even decent year. Nothing about his body of work shows a guy who the Cubs should trust to start a postseason game.
I understand that the market won't include many sellers, making it harder to ignore Alcantara, but the last thing the Cubs should do is overpay for a pitcher who might be a shell of his former self. The only way to justify an Alcantara trade would be if the Marlins traded him for pennies on the dollar, which is not realistic.
The name is an exciting one, but Alcantara continues to prove that the Cubs are better off going in another direction. This start proves that.