It's only a matter of time before the Miami Marlins decide to trade their ace, Sandy Alcántara.
Alcántara won the 2022 National League Cy Young award following a dominant season in Miami. He was modest in 2023 but suffered an elbow injury. The righty would eventually undergo Tommy John surgery which sidelined him for all of 2024. Since returning, the righty has looked like the same pitcher he was in 2022. His fastball has zip and his offspeed stuff looks electric.
The Marlins have already traded a lot of their big league roster within the last year, but trading Alcántara is the next step toward the ultimate rebuild and reset.
Bleacher Report's Zachary Rymer recently proposed a shocking trade that would send Alcántara to the Chicago Cubs in a shocking deal.
Here's the full trade pitched by Rymer:
- Chicago Cubs receive: RHP Sandy Alcántara
- Miami Marlins receive: RHP Javier Assad, C Moises Ballesteros (Cubs No. 3 prospect), OF Kevin Alcántara (Cubs No. 6 prospect)
"Assad is a bit redundant in Chicago, but the 27-year-old is at least usable as a major league pitcher," Rymer wrote. "He even had a 3.73 ERA over 147 innings last year.
"The real prizes here are Ballesteros, who projects as a high-average type, and Alcántara, who has power and speed in abundance. Neither has a clear path to playing time in Chicago, but that wouldn't be an issue in Miami."
The Cubs would likely need to toss in another top-seven prospect to land the former Cy Young winner from the Marlins. Adding in Owen Caissie would likely make this a much more feasible deal.
Bringing Alcántara to the Windy City would be the kind of move Chicago could be looking to make. It's done nothing but make win-now moves ahead of the 2025 season. Adding the flamethrowing righty to the rotation would be a huge addition for the next three seasons.