The Atlanta Braves could use another arm in their rotation after losing Max Fried and Charlie Morton. Could they bring in a Cy Young Award winner?
Plenty of rebuilding teams may be willing to trade their ace, like the Chicago White Sox did with Garrett Crochet. Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins is a candidate for trade, and FanSided’s Christopher Kline urged the Braves to acquire him.
“Right now, the bottom of Atlanta’s rotation is comprised of unproven young talent, such as Ian Anderson and Bryce Elder,” wrote Kline. “While there is some justified faith in the progression of Atlanta’s top pitching prospects, we saw what happened when the Braves were forced to dip into their minor-league arms last season. Anderson, Elder, A.J. Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep — these are all unproven commodities on a team with immediate World Series aspirations. The Braves would do better to acquire a proven ace like Alcantara in the prime of his career.”
Alcantara signed a five-year, $56 million deal with the Marlins in 2021. He won the National League Cy Young Award in 2022 but saw a decline in 2023. He missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. His injury status could make him cheaper to acquire than he should be.
He has a 3.32 career ERA and could join Chris Sale, Reynaldo López and Spencer Strider to create an elite group. During his Cy Young Award season, he had a 2.28 ERA, 207 strikeouts and six complete games.
More MLB: Blue Jays could ship $33 million All-Star to Brewers on 1 condition
