Sandy Alcantara Deserves To Be the First Retired Marlins Jersey

Despite being ranked inside the top 10 of the St. Louis Cardinals’ farm system at the time of the 2017 trade that sent him to the Miami Marlins, there could be a case made that Sandy Alcantara has not been appreciated for just how talented of a pitcher he is.

Sandy wasn’t even the top pitcher ranked in the Cardinals’ system at the time. He was actually ranked third, depending on the rankings you looked at, behind Alex Reyes and Luke Weaver.

Now, almost nine years since the trade, Sandy Alcantara has just about solidified his case to be the first player in Miami Marlins franchise history to have his number retired.

Throw the stats and accolades aside. There is no clearer representation of what a “Face of the Franchise” type of player is than the way Sandy represents the Marlins franchise on and off the field.

Through his toughness, loyalty, work ethic, and what has been an unwavering connection to the city that has had his back since the day he arrived, he is worthy of this honor.

There are multiple ways to break down the legitimacy of his candidacy. I do not believe there is any doubt that any team in Major League Baseball would want a Sandy Alcantara leading their team. There’s a reason his name is continuously thrown around in every trade rumor, and it has nothing to do with the Marlins’ on-field performance.

If that were the case, the Marlins would have traded him long ago, when they did everyone else. Sandy is the one player who has survived multiple ownerships and front-office overhauls since he arrived in 2017.

Each person who has been given the power to make roster moves for this organization understands what he means to the team, the fanbase, and the city of Miami. There are multiple ways to dissect his candidacy amongst all of the other great players who have worn a Marlins jersey in their franchise’s history.

A Leader Beyond his Years

Believe it or not, Sandy Alcantara entered the 2026 season as a young 30-year-old, despite it feeling as if he has been in the league for darn-near 15+ years.

I would argue that the most compelling part of his case would be how he has developed into the clubhouse leader that this franchise has needed for some time. While there have been great players like Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Miguel Cabrera, and Josh Beckett who have been a part of this team’s history, none of them have taken on the responsibility of what it means to be a sizable clubhouse presence for as long as he has.

True leadership is not defined by a simple “Captain” label or having an extended amount of time in the big leagues. Leadership is earned through setting an example of what it means to be a high-caliber person just as much as it is being a high-caliber player.

A perfect example of what he has meant to this team is the responsibility he took upon himself to serve as a mentor to Eury Perez while he was still at the lower levels of the minor leagues. Where else have you seen a well-accomplished major leaguer do that?

The preparation, competitiveness, and willingness to face the media head-on during the struggles and trade rumors are the epitome of what it means to be a team leader.

The Ultimate Ace

I would argue that there isn’t another pitcher in baseball who defines the term “workhorse” better than Sandy. He isn’t just another pitcher who goes out every fifth day for a team. Sandy has been a pitcher whom the Marlins have dedicated time and resources to building around ever since acquiring him as the headliner in the Marcel Ozuna trade.

Sandy’s ability to consistently pitch deep into games even when he doesn’t have his best stuff, take on massive workloads year-after-year, and continuously give his team a chance to win every time he takes the mound is what has made him one of the most dependable pitchers of his generation.

The stigma lingering around this team because of the past ownership’s short-sighted process of flipping talented players before having to pay them has stained the perception around this organization. So, the fact that Sandy Alcantara’s longevity and consistency have lasted through the transfers of ownership weighs even more into this.

Nobody Works Harder Than Sandy

Yes, baseball is a numbers game. There is no denying that. However, achieving those numbers depends on the work put in behind the scenes to prepare for the upcoming season, the next start, or even working your way back from a serious injury.

When Sandy announced at the end of 2023 that he was undergoing Tommy John surgery after having pitched through elbow soreness, helping the team compete for a playoff spot in 2023 was a shot that this franchise was not ready for. Not only was he missed when the team did make the postseason, but it was also the fact that the leader of the team was now going to miss all of the 2024 season while working his way back to the mound.

The severity of this surgery is well-known in this game, and the rehab back from it is not always a guarantee that a player is going to be able to work their way back to their previous form. Thankfully for Marlins fans, Sandy is arguably the hardest worker in baseball, making his return to the mound a given. Whether he would return to the unanimous Cy Young Award-winning form was the true question.

Well, those questions were quickly put to bed when we saw videos posted of Sandy throwing bullpens, hitting the upper-90s consistently on the radar gun. Despite that, his first season back struck fear into not just Marlins fans, but fans of Sandy.

Even through the two seasons of struggles that followed his year off recovering, Sandy pitched 184.2 and 174.2 innings in his return. It is almost unheard of for a pitcher to take on such a workload in his first season back after a serious injury like that.

Now we sit here in the heart of August, and Sandy is back to leading all of Major League Baseball in innings pitched with 163.2 heading into today.

Franchise-Defining Player

I can go on and on about just how impactful the name Sandy Alcantara has been on this franchise for years. His impact has been felt in the box score, the team standings, the press conferences, and now in the team history books after having eclipsed the franchise mark for most innings pitched in the team’s history.

This comes just a couple of months after he surpassed Ricky Nolasco as the Marlins’ all-time leader in strikeouts as well.

Sandy Alcantara was not signed by the Marlins out of the Dominican Republic, but I would bet there were many who you could convince he has been a Marlin since day one.

Through all of the highs of playoff berths, the lows of undergoing Tommy John and having to fight through the struggles that followed, and all of the trade rumors that continue to spawn every year despite his public loyalty to the Marlins franchise, he has endured things that not just anyone would be able to withstand.

The number 22 jersey should be retired the very next day after Sandy Alcantara retires from Major League Baseball. For the sake of Marlins fans, and even Sandy, I hope we never have to see him wear another jersey throughout his big league career. I truly do not know if there will be another player who means this much to a team.

The impact that Sandy Alcantara has on this organization goes well beyond dollars or a prospect package in a trade. During the 2024 season, when Sandy was not on the field, his impact was still felt. His loss was a gaping hole not just in the rotation, but in the clubhouse while he was out rehabbing.

I cannot wait until the jersey retirement ceremony is announced, and I will be sure to be one of the first to buy tickets for it.