Who Are the Best Trade Fits for Sandy Alcantara?
After Alcantara took the mound for Miami on Opening Day, the question remains as to whether he's the next Marlin on the trade block.
On Opening Day, Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara took the mound for a regular season game for the first time since 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
While a 4.2-inning start may not necessarily have been exactly what Marlins fans had in mind for their former Cy Young winning front-man in his season debut, he still gave them somewhat of a show with seven strikeouts in an eventual 5-4 walk-off win for the Fish.
While the Marlins faithful are undoubtedly happy to have Alcantara back in the fold, the question still looms of how many starts he has left in a Marlins uniform.
It’s no secret the Marlins are in the midst of a major rebuild, after notable names like Jesús Luzardo and Jake Burger were dealt elsewhere this winter.
With more trades likely on the horizon, Alcantara is the best remaining asset for the Marlins to recoup some assets for the future.
While it may seem a bit early to discuss trades, considering the 2025 season is not even a week old, early trades are not out of the question when it comes to Peter Bendix and the Marlins. Last season, it took until just May 4 for Miami to kick off the trade season when they dealt All-Star infielder Luis Arráez to the San Diego Padres.
So if the trend continues and Alcantara’s days in South Florida are, in fact, numbered, where could he find himself pitching next?
It will most definitely take a king’s ransom to acquire the 29-year-old right-hander, so let’s explore the top trade suitors that could meet the Marlins’ demands.
Sandy Alcantara’s Top Trade Suitors
Los Angeles Dodgers
No team can make a better case than the reigning World Series champion Dodgers as both a landing spot for Alcantara individually and to the Marlins when it comes to the return.
Despite having as stacked a rotation as anybody in the league, the Dodgers are coming off a year in which they faced an immense amount of injury to their starting staff, so having as many high-level arms in the mix could be key in their attempt to go back-to-back.
And considering Alcantara will be pitching in his first season coming off Tommy John, the protection of a deeper rotation than a traditional five-man staff might be in both his and the Dodgers’ best interest.
When discussing a return, the Dodgers have seven Top 100 prospects, including three within the top 10.
While Roki Sasaki is all but untouchable, the speed/power threat in Zyhir Hope, our No. 8 overall prospect, makes him as intriguing a future asset as the league has. Then there’s Dalton Rushing, our No. 10 overall prospect, who, despite his positional versatility, is blocked by both the plethora of outfielders in Los Angeles as well as Will Smith at catcher.
If the Dodgers were to form a deal around one of those names and then dip into the remaining four Top 100 guys like Josue De Paula, Alex Freeland or Jackson Ferris, they could easily make the best offer that the Marlins will see.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs showed their hand as a team willing to spend big on the trade market, bringing in Kyle Tucker this offseason and being linked to some of the bigger pitchers on the market, like Luzardo and Luis Castillo, at different points this winter.
Now, they didn’t end up landing one of those major pitching names this winter, and while a Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele rotation is a good one, they may still be a Sandy Alcantara away from being a World Series-contending staff.
They may not have seven Top 100 prospects like L.A., but Chicago’s farm is doing just fine with five to their name to start 2025, meaning they could formulate quite the offer to Miami.
While Matt Shaw, our No. 12 overall prospect, might not be on the block after making the Opening Day roster, the Cubs next three Top 100 names are big league ready, with Cade Horton, our No. 45 overall prospect, and Owen Caissie, our No. 58 overall prospect, likely being the two most intriguing pieces for the Marlins’ more immediate needs.
Injury prevented Horton from making his big league debut last season, but 2025 could be the time for the young righty to finally receive his long-awaited call-up. Given that the Cubs are seemingly going for it, a former unanimous Cy Young Award winner might offer more value to their current plans than that of a promising 23-year-old prospect.
With Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki on the big league roster, regular MLB at-bats might be difficult for Caissie to obtain, but he could immediately make a case to step into Miami’s outfield in 2025.
Then perhaps a younger name for the future, like Jefferson Rojas, our No. 90 overall prospect, could be another name to continue to build what should be a mammoth of a package for Alcantara.
Detroit Tigers
After a miraculous second-half run to propel them back into the postseason picture, the Detroit Tigers suddenly find themselves with more hope than they likely anticipated at this time when they first entered their rebuild.
Now, as the focus in the Motor City is geared more toward contention, the Tigers have already taken strides to make this roster a more competitive unit than it was a year ago, with the signings of Jack Flaherty and Gleyber Torres being prime examples of this.
From a rotation standpoint, adding an arm like Alcantara to the fold would suddenly give them two aces, as he’d work alongside arguably the best pitcher in baseball in Tarik Skubal.
Then, with Flaherty, Reese Olson and our No. 3 overall prospect Jackson Jobe among the complementary arms, a move for Alcantara suddenly looks more and more intriguing.
After reportedly pursuing Alex Bregman heavily in free agency, as per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, the desire to spend is definitely there from Scott Harris and the Tigers’ front office, making Alcantara’s $17.3 million AAV in 2025 and 2026 and his $21 million club option in ’27 very feasible.
In terms of what the Marlins could get in return, there’s no shortage of high-level prospects in the Tigers system to choose from.
While Jobe might not be in play, and the success of Marlins catching prospect Agustin Ramírez might deter them from the likes of Thayron Liranzo, the Tigers still boast three additional top prospects to offer in a package.
Now, each of these options may be more geared toward the future in terms of the immediacy of their potential impact, with the closest of their ETAs being 2026. However, shortstop Kevin McGonigle, our No. 7 overall prospect, outfielder Max Clark, our No. 44 overall prospect, and shortstop Bryce Rainer, our No. 63 overall prospect, are all valuable pieces that a rebuilding organization like the Marlins would certainly covet.
New York Mets
Now, the likelihood the Marlins would want to send another starting arm to a division rival, after already dealing Luzardo to the Philadelphia Phillies this past offseason, might be unlikely.
However, with the way Mets’ owner Steve Cohen has shown his willingness to go the extra mile to make this team the best possible product it can be, we still have to consider them a strong suitor.
From a Mets perspective, Alcantara makes all the sense in the world as well. They have top-end caliber arms in Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga, along with arms that could pleasantly surprise, like Clay Holmes. However, what they lack is an out-and-out ace like Alcantara.
When it comes to a prospective package for the Marlins, the Mets could put together an intriguing one.
They may not have the same amount of prospect capital that other teams already mentioned have. Still, with three Top 100 prospects, two of which are not only Top 50 names but near major league ready in right-hander Brandon Sproat, our No. 31 overall prospect, and shortstop Jett Williams, our No. 43 overall prospect, they may be able to peak Peter Bendix’s interest.
Not to mention, with how active the Mets have been on the free agent and trade markets, there’s a lot of established major league competition in front of those promising youngsters.
Speaking of promising youngsters, the Mets could also include the likes of Luisangel Acuña and, to a lesser extent, Brett Baty, after a great spring, if the Marlins value some more major league-ready talent as add-ons to a deal.
Baltimore Orioles
Now, I understand this offseason was not the one that Orioles fans likely had in mind. They lost their ace in Corbin Burnes on the open market and didn’t necessarily make that big splash to their rotation to replace him, opting for the likes of middle-to-low-end veteran options like Charlie Morton, Kyle Gibson and Tomoyuki Sugano instead.
As frustrating as Burnes’ departure, and the lack of an overall major splash in general, was this winter, the O’s are still coming off a 91-win season with some definite promise remaining on their active roster.
With a skilled young lineup and a back-end heavy bullpen as deep as theirs, Baltimore could very well be just a high-end rotation piece away from being one of the more promising pennant contenders in an American League that’s arguably as wide-open as it’s been in some time.
Alcantara could come in and immediately alleviate some of the pressure on the promising youngster Grayson Rodriguez while ultimately giving more structure to that plethora of middle-of-the-rotation arms the team is currently fielding.
Considering the type of package the Marlins might be looking for for their ace, the Orioles have the prospect means to get a deal across the finish line.
Coby Mayo, our No. 33 overall prospect, might be the most blocked prospect in all of baseball, having been passed over for an Opening Day roster once again.
With nothing left for the 23-year-old to prove at the plate in the minor leagues, now would be the perfect time to build a deal around him and bring in a name like Alcantara to the rotation, where it’s been well documented that Baltimore could use some top-end reinforcements.
With a few other Top 100 prospects in the mix as well in Samuel Basallo, our No. 13 overall prospect, and Enrique Bradfield Jr., our No. 74 overall prospect, there’s still plenty of capital for the Orioles to make this deal happen, even after so many of their prospects have graduated in recent years.
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