Sandy Alcantara is one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball and it seems that he is going to be the building block for the Miami Marlins. The team reportedly is getting out in front of the rumor mill as they have decided to not make the 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner available in trade talks during the 2024 MLB offseason. There is a lot to break down from this report so let’s take a deeper dive into what all of this means.
Why would the Miami Marlins discuss a Sandy Alcantara trade now?
Craig Mish, Senior Baseball Contributor of the Miami Herald and MLB Network Contributor, was the person who reported this news. In the post, he mentions how the Miami Marlins fully expect Sandy Alcantara to return from Tommy John surgery on time and be the Opening Day starter for the team in 2025. The team would likely get a significant haul for the former NL Cy Young Award winner for multiple reasons.
Sandy Alcantara is on a very friendly contract as he is signed to a five-year, $56 million contract and the contract was backloaded as the Marlins bought out his arbitration years. He is signed through the 2027 season (2026 if the team declines its option) and the breakdown for his annual salaries during this contract is listed below:
- 2025: $17.3 million
- 2026: $17.3 million
- 2027: $21 million (team option with $2 million buyout)
Despite the struggles that the Miami Marlins have gone through, he has been with the team since the 2017 MLB offseason when he was included in the trade that sent outfielder Marcell Ozuna to the St. Louis Cardinals on December 14, 2017. Alcantara has pitched like a dominant ace as in 146 games (138 starts) he is 41-55 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in 900.2 innings throughout his career.
Discussing a trade for a valuable asset with years of control who can pitch at an unbelievable level like Sandy Alcantara would net a massive haul as he is just 28 years old. However, this could also just be a ploy by the Miami Marlins to get significantly better offers than whatever they have heard thus far, if any.
Does this mean the Miami Marlins are not going to listen to any offers?
Major League Baseball is different than other sports as players do not have the same freedoms when wanting out of their contracts. Teams and front offices are going to be able to just let a disgruntled player stay with the team, but it is important to note that Sandy Alcantara has not done that as of this writing nor shown any signs that this is on the way. However, this could be the Marlins front office attempting to play chess instead of checkers here.
Saying they are not going to be looking to move Sandy Alcantara could drive up the possible return that the Miami Marlins could get. The team just had a massive 2024 MLB Trade Deadline as they were able to trade closer Tanner Scott as they received Robby Snelling, Adam Mazu, Graham Pauley and Jay Beshears, landing three of the San Diego Padres’ top five prospects. That just shows how much they would begin to ask if they are going to even consider moving on from him.
This is one trade that likely will not happen as teams are not going to be similar to what the San Diego Padres front office has done. The only team that can be in that position would be the Baltimore Orioles and that home run offer does not seem likely to happen.
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