After the typically furious last couple of hours before Major League Baseball’s trade deadline, it only takes a few minutes for the air to clear and the silence to amplify those untraded stars who stayed with their teams.
And in a mild upset, Sandy Alcantara is still a Marlin. Good for them.
Hey, perhaps it’s just a byproduct that in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner simply hasn’t been that good most of the season. He’s toted a 6.36 ERA through his first 21 starts, and his strikeouts per nine innings are down from 8.1 in 2022 to 6.7 this year.
Yet there are a few factors that would make Alcantara more than easy for a contender to gobble up.
First, his contract: Alcantara is signed for two more seasons, at a reasonable $17.3 million next season with a $21 million option for 2027.
And second, his past two starts have been far better – 12 scoreless innings, including a seven-inning, four-hit outing against the San Diego Padres.
It would be a minimal risk and a fair leap for a team to bet on Alcantara’s arrow continuing to go up. And it’s fair to assume the Marlins would have dealt the erstwhile ace had they received a proposal that knocked them over.
But let’s examine the overlooked party in a universe where trade rumors tend to begin somewhere in the Northeast, acknowledging the rest of the world only to serve their roster need.
What about the Marlins?
Simply, there has been no better team in baseball since June 13, after which the Marlins have gone 27-14, tied with the Milwaukee Brewers. They have won five series in a row and 10 of their past 13.
They are 52-55 and while they’re seven games out of a wild card spot, they will bring into August a rotation that posted a majors-best 2.82 ERA in July.
Sure, there was at least a partial concession on July 31, when they dealt outfielder Jesus Sanchez to Houston. Yet two years of injury recovery from the likes of Alcantara and fellow right-hander Eury Perez and deft maneuvering by GM Peter Bendix have elevated the Marlins.
Minus a Juan Soto-like return for Alcantara, there’s no sense strip-mining the roster yet again, not when there’s pieces like All-Star outfielder Kyle Stowers to build around.
In short, 2026 could look pretty good in Miami. And the Marlins don’t simply exist for the entertainment of bigger markets to poach, even if Trade Deadline Brain has consumed a significant amount of baseball fandom.
Despite all that, Sandy Alcantara is still a Marlin. And that’s a good thing.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sandy Alcantara stays with Marlins at MLB trade deadline
