When the dust settled on the offseason, one team that made some late moves was the Detroit Tigers. After a relatively quiet offseason, the Tigers struck by adding a pair of veteran free agent pitchers.
First, Detroit signed Framber Valdez, a former left-hander for the Houston Astros. They then brought back veteran right-hander Justin Verlander to solidify their rotation. One thing the Tigers failed to do was secure a long-term deal with left-hander Tarik Skubal. However, with Skubal and Valdez at the top of the rotation, it’s one of the top 1-2 punches in the American League.
You have to think that at some point, they will get a deal done. They went to arbitration this offseason, where Skubal won his case to get $32 million in 2026 after the club offered just $19 million. Detroit is expected to be one of the top AL contenders, and they were predicted to make a trade this season that would make them the team to beat in October for manager A.J. Hinch.
Detroit Tigers Predicted to Trade for Sandy Alcantara
One team that has pitching and wheeling and dealing this offseason was the Miami Marlins. They traded right-hander Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs and Ryan Weathers to the New York Yankees. The Marlins have one pitcher that teams still covet, right-hander Sandy Alcantara. Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report predicted that the Tigers will trade for the former Cy Young Award winner.
“After months of speculation that the Tigers might consider trading away Tarik Skubal, they could instead end up with a postseason rotation of Skubal, Alcantara, Framber Valdez, and Justin Verlander/Jack Flaherty,” wrote Miller.
“Even looking beyond this upcoming October and assuming Skubal signs elsewhere for a preposterous sum of money next winter, trading for Alcantara would put at least the top of the Tigers’ rotation in pretty great shape for 2027,” Miller added.
There is no denying that Skubal’s future is unclear in Detroit. If the Tigers let him walk, they will need another top-of-the-rotation arm with Valdez. Alcantara would fit the bill. He makes $17 million with a $21 million club option for 2027.
A Healthy Sandy Alcantara is a Game-Changer for the Detroit Tigers
Some teams may have been hesitant to trade for Alcantara as he returned in 2025 from surgery that cost him the 2024 campaign. He got better as the season went along and finished with an 11-12 record in 31 starts with a 5.36 ERA. He pitched 174.2 innings with 142 strikeouts and 1.27 WHIP.
The 30-year-old won the National League Cy Young Award in 2022. He went 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA with 207 strikeouts in 228.2 innings. He finished with an insane 8.1 WAR. Alcantara may never have a season like that again, but he still certainly has the stuff to headline a rotation on a contender.
The question for Miami will be, do they trade Alcantara or hold onto him? Last year, they overachieved and missed the playoffs by four games. If they’re in the mix at the trade deadline this year, then they might hold onto him. If not, the Tigers could build a tough rotation.
Given Miami’s history of trading away players in their prime rather than holding onto them, it feels like sooner or later, they are going to trade him. Detroit could add for the postseason stretch in 2026 while also adding for the future if Skubal leaves. This is a prediction that could become reality later this summer.
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