Sandy Alcantara is not going anywhere. The Miami Marlins are officially in the buy conversation, and one of the best available arms in baseball just came off the trade market.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Friday that the Marlins plan to keep Alcantara through the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Even better for Miami fans, Rosenthal says the front office actually intends to add strategically to the roster ahead of the deadline, barring a total collapse over the next few weeks.
That is a plot twist. Miami was widely projected to be a seller and Alcantara was widely projected to be the second-most valuable arm on the market after Tarik Skubal.
Alcantara is 30 and coming back from Tommy John surgery in late 2023 that cost him the entire 2024 season. He is rounding into form this year with a 10-4 record, a 4.00 ERA, and 92 strikeouts through an MLB-leading 123.2 innings. That workload is elite for a guy in his first full season back. The ERA is a bit inflated by some early rust that has since evened out.
He also has a contract that is pretty team-friendly. Miami holds a $21 million club option on him for 2027 with a $2 million buyout. That means the Marlins can keep him through next year at a reasonable rate and reassess.
The Marlins are 52-42 and hold the third Wild Card spot in the NL. They have won 12 of their last 15 games including six in a row. Miami was under .500 as recently as last month. This is a real turnaround.
The Marlins buying at the deadline sounds funny given the franchise’s history. But this is a young roster that has a chance to grow together and Alcantara is the anchor. Trading him would signal a rebuild that his teammates would rightfully be confused by. Keeping him signals belief.
The rest of the contenders have to react to this. Every team looking for a top-of-the-rotation arm has one fewer option now. Skubal is still out there, though the Tigers are not going to be cheap. Sonny Gray could still be available if the Cardinals collapse. Kevin Gausman could be a Toronto option. Joe Ryan is a name to watch in Minnesota.
The Marlins might not make the playoffs. Their run differential is still not dominant. But they are competitive, they are hot, and they have a franchise pitcher who is throwing well again. Selling him now would have been surrender.
Miami is going for it. Alcantara stays. That is the story, and the rest of the National League has to plan accordingly.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
