Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Marlins could become sellers at the MLB trade deadline, with Sandy Alcantara drawing significant interest.
- The Cubs need rotation depth after multiple injuries and see this starter as a potential difference-maker for their playoff push.
- A trade for Alcantara would test the Cubs' willingness to overspend, and could directly impact their path through the NL East's top team.
The Miami Marlins aren't a bad baseball team. Heck, in the NL East, there's a very good argument they're second best. The Braves are the runaway favorites, while the Phillies are finally starting to rebound. But the rest of the division? Well, that's a mess. The Marlins and Nationals can't commit to contending. The Mets are a travesty. So, assuming the Marlins are indeed sellers again at the MLB trade deadline, Sandy Alcantara is likely to be moved. The Chicago Cubs are an ideal suitor, and already added former Marlins pitcher Edward Cabrera this past winter.
On the other side of this coin are the Cubs. Chicago's rotation is down a few key members, including Justin Steele and Cade Horton. They'll be in the market for rotation upgrades at the deadline, and none is more appetizing than Alcantara as of this writing, minus maybe Joe Ryan.
What a Cubs-Marlins trade for Sandy Alcantara would look like
Alcantara is not the Cy Young winner he once was. He's had a couple surgeries since then. However, what Alcantara does offer is top-of-the-rotation upside. Much like he did on Sunday, he can shut down a lineup on any particular day. So far this season, he has a 4.01 ERA in eight starts. A couple of those appearances in particular have ballooned his ERA, including seven-run outings against the Orioles and Tigers. If you take those out of the equation — which you absolutely shouldn't — he's solid.
That being said, it's tough to put a price on Alcantara. He's signed beyond this season on an affordable deal, and even at his worst he's valuable. That means a couple of top prospects, and the Marlins already took one of those from Chicago in Owen Caissie in the Cabrera deal.
Would the Cubs make this trade?
Given their multiple 10-game winning streaks so far this season, the Cubs are as close to all-in as Jed Hoyer will allow. Chicago's pitching staff isn't what they thought it would be before the start of the regular season. While adding Cabrera was some much-needed depth, what the Cubs couldn't account for was injuries to Horton, Steele and Matthew Boyd. Some of those injuries, particularly to the latter two, are long term. So if the Cubs are going to reach their ultimate goal this season — and that's to win a World Series — they need to swing for the fences. That means adding Alcantara, and probably overspending to do so.
Would the Marlins make this trade?
The Marlins are the wild card in all of this. By no means do they have to trade Alcantara, but he's been floated in trade rumors so often it surely seems like they intend to. Miami is in the business of getting as much for their assets as possible. They signed Alcantara to an affordable deal, and they will reap the benefits eventually. What stands in the way of a Cubs fit is, of course, the possibility of multiple interested teams. The Marlins have every right to make this a bidding war, and it's unclear if the Cubs will go higher than their second-ranked prospect and their second-ranked pitching prospect. They've given up a lot to the Marlins already. Miami can probably do better.
Sandy Alcantara comes with success against the Braves
Not that it's at the top of the Cubs mind right now, but if the season ended today there's a good chance they'd have to get through the Atlanta Braves to win the NL pennant. The Braves have the best record in baseball, and own the top spot in our MLB Power Rankings for a reason. Here's what FanSided's Zach Rotman had to say about the Braves just last week.
"This Braves team is good and does not quit. They stole a game against the Tigers on a Matt Olson walk-off, and just a couple of days later, rallied back from a six-run deficit at Coors Field to knock off the Rockies. Atlanta is running away with the NL East despite sluggish starts from Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley and a rash of pitching injuries. This team’s ceiling is absurdly high if those star hitters ever get going and their pitching can be remotely healthy," Rotman wrote.
Fast forward to this week, and the Braves remain a force. Alcantara, though, could be thier kryptonite, as he owns a 3.31 ERA and 90 strikeouts against Atlanta in 16 appearances.
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