Just a heads-up—this trade deadline, the Miami Marlins’ $56 million pitcher will arguably be one of the most intriguing names in the aggressive trade market. The kind of potential and elite arm he carries attracts contenders eyeing rotation reinforcements. Being a Cy Young winner with a proven upside makes him a hot trade chip in the market. In fact, despite his name floating around in trade talks with the Yankees and the Dodgers, the Marlins’ true deadline day strategy will definitely catch you off guard.
The Marlins should ideally be trading Sandy Alcantara while his value is down. But the team wants to play it the other way. For the record, Alcantara stands with a 7.14 ERA across 13 starts, and he’s not yet around his Cy Young form lately.
Not to forget, he’s coming off Tommy John surgery. It’s difficult to be sure that he’ll find his footing back anytime soon. That’s where the question arises—why are the Marlins holding on?
The Marlins believe that offloading Alcantara now would mean selling low. They have the urgency to rebuild their team and shed their payroll. Right now, the Marlins are willing to wait until Alcantara bounces back stronger. He’s clearly not looking like a frontline starter as of now. He needs to look like one before the Marlins listen to the offers. Alcantara’s contract includes a $21 million team option till 2027. So, the marlins have enough time, as they would like to believe.
Meanwhile, the fans and the analysts alike are bracing for a potential trade. Both the Yankees and the Dodgers have been linked to Alcantara’s trade since the beginning of this season. While Gerrit Cole is recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery, Max Fried stepped up for the team temporarily. Depth is not a luxury the Yankees will take for granted. On the other hand, the World Series champions—the Dodgers—are expecting their starters back from the injury soon, but their interest doesn’t seem to have faded from Alcantara.
However, the Marlins are expected to hold onto Sandy until his value grows. Alcantara showed a hint of his old form when the Marlins took on the Pirates and ended with a 3-2 win. Even Pirates player Spencer Horwitz couldn’t help but appreciate his rival. “He was Alcantara. I think he’s not having his best year but today he was on and he showed why he’s been one of the best.” For the time being, they are more into discussion offers from their outfield stack—Kyle Stowers and Jesus Sanchez.
As it seems, teams like the Padres and the Royals won’t mind overpaying for them. The Marlins seem to be pretty clear about their overall stance. It might be for the best, cause Alcantara will likely get back to his form sooner or later.
Is Sandy Alcantara regaining his command?
Let’s not get carried away, cause it’s too soon, but Sandy Alcantara—Miami Marlins’ right-hander—has started to show promising signs. He produced quality starts against the two teams with the worst offenses in the major leagues—the Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies. He topped out at 99.2 mph with his four-seamer against the Pirates. In fact, most importantly, it’s the fact that he’s able to adjust his dive pitch repertoire according to the lineup he’s against.
The Rockies have a right-handed heavy lineup, and Alcantara made the most of his sinker and changeup. He combined 47 percent of his pitches and his curve for 20 percent.
He himself opened up about his game to the reporters recently and revealed that he’s proud of himself for being patient and resilient. It’s true, finally, the Marlins had a glimpse of old Sandy in his two starts against the Rockies and Pirates. Across his 11 starts, Alcantara’s ERA sits at 8.47, and in the last two, it was 1.50.
Do you think his regained command will be used by the Marlins to raise his trade value? Well, time will tell, but his last two starts are certainly ace-caliber, which he was initially known for.
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