The Miami Marlins didn’t expect to keep their best player beyond the trade deadline this season but may be forced to.
Ace and 2022 National League Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara has been in the rumor mill for a while now, and it seemed like he would finally be on the move this year.
Well, that was before Alcantara became the worst starting pitcher this season, at least in the first half.
Alcantara, 29, is 4-9 with a brutal 7.14 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP in 19 starts this season.
The big right-hander missed all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in late 2023. The hope was that he would settle in after a tough start to the season, but that hasn’t happened, and it’s gotten worse.
Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports answered 18 burning questions for the second half, including one about the Marlins trading Alcantara.
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“The Marlins were hoping to bring in a haul of prospect for the former Cy Young winner at the deadline,” wrote Nightengale. “They never envisioned that he would like a shell of his former self.
“He is yielding an 8.61 ERA in his last four starts, giving up 32 hits in 23 innings with 14 strikeouts and five walks. The Marlins may have no choice now but to hang onto him and shop him again this winter.”
Lots of teams are in on Alcantara, with the thought that he can be fixed. Teams like the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees are in need of a starter, but will probably look elsewhere despite the market being thin.
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