Coming into the season, Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcántara was quite the question mark. The righty underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 after winning the National League Cy Young award in 2022. He missed the entire season last year before returning for Spring Training in 2025.
While Alcántara looked solid in Spring Training, he began the regular season on a terrible stretch. Through a few starts, his ERA was closer to 10.00 than it was the league average. It was hard to stomach that such a talented pitcher could have had his career ruined by a torn UCL.
But he's battled back and dominated again during June. The righty has put together three consecutive solid starts this month and his trade value has skyricketed back to what it was in the early spring.
At this point, it seems like it's just a matter of time before the Marlins execute a trade with the former Cy Young winner. But which team is going to be the one that lands him?
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Trade suitor 1: New York Yankees
The New York Yankees desperately need to add pitching this season. Their starting pitching depth has been tested and tested again during the season and the Bronx Bombers haven't responded in a big way yet. While Will Warren has been a promising piece of the puzzle this year, the other backend starters have been horrific for the Yankees. Carlos Carrasco and Marcus Stroman quickly showed they didn't belong on a postseason roster while other guys have gotten hurt.
New York needs to go out and get a starter before the trade deadline and it seems like it's only a matter of time before the front office gains a sense of urgency and pulls off a deal. The first name at the top of their wish list should be the aforementioned Alcántara. Adding him would set the Yankees up for years down the road as the righty has multiple years of affordable team control left on his deal.
The only issue with this idea is the Yankees' lack of prospect depth. If New York can find a way to bring in Alcántara without completely crippling its farm system, the Yankees could be the best landing spot for the righty.
Trade suitor 2: Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs have needed to add starting pitchers for the last few months but they haven't really done so. The Cubs have also been linked to Alcántara time and time again, yet no credible source has indicated any encouraging trade discussions between the Cubs and the Marlins. But that doesn't mean they won't be the dream landing spot.
The Cubs have a loaded farm system despite trading away a few top prospects in the offseason to bring in Ryan Pressly and Kyle Tucker. At this point, the Cubs need to go all in to win the World Series while they have Tucker on the roster or they could be left kicking themselves in the behind at the end of the season, especially if Tucker leaves in free agency.
Adding Alcántara to the roster would give Chicago a talented pitcher with the potential to return to ace form. He would firmly be placed at the top of the Cubs' rotation for the next few seasons while Chicago looks to return a few of its injured starters in the near future.
Trade suitor 3: Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers came into the season with five potential Cy Young candidates on their roster. Behind these five (Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani) was Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, and a few other top prospects. Even with all this depth, injuries have destroyed the Dodgers rotation beyond recognition. Instead of having the most dominant rotation in baseball, Los Angeles' unit isn't even above average at this point.
It's clear they need to make a trade, but most of the media are quick to link Los Angeles to rental option like Erick Fedde. Trading for Alcántara makes a bit more sense even though he comes with the obvious risk of returning from Tommy John surgery.
Alcántara's team friendly contract fits with Los Angeles' massive payroll in the perfect way. The Dodgers' farm system also has the talent it would take to swing a trade. Former top prospects James Outman and the aforementioned Miller could be used as the headliners in a deal with Miami.
This would be the ultimate example of the rich getting richer, but that's been the reality of MLB at this point. The Dodgers aren't going to shy away from buying at any point in time and if they can give the Marlins the best trade package, Alcántara could be a Dodger by August.
Trade suitor 4: Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles have been connected to Alcántara as often as any team in the game. The fit makes way too much sense to not have them on this list. Let's look into it.
The Orioles aren't the prototypical buyer this season. They've struggled to win games this year and it's unlikely they'll compete for the World Series this season. But Alcántara's multi-year contract fits with the Orioles winning window.
Baltimore's team is built around a young core of position players. Their winning window will be open for the next five or six years, or as long as the front office can keep this core together. That makes trading for a controllable pitcher like Alcántara an obvious move while trading for an expiring pitcher, like they did with Corbin Burnes in 2024, a bad move.
Baltimore also has a loaded farm system. It could afford to move a few top prospects including one of its corner infielders and an outfield prospect in order to acquire the former Cy Young winner from Miami.
If the Orioles want to ever contend with the Yankees at the top of the AL East, they're going to need to take some bigger risks. This is the kind of risk that could steal the division title in the future.