On September 3, 2023, the Miami Marlins were going for their 70th win and making an all-out push for their first postseason berth in a full season (outside of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season) since 2003, the year they won their second and so far last World Series. Everything was looking good, with their ace on the mound â right-hander Sandy Alcantara, who was pitching for his 14th win of the season.
Alcantara did everything he needed to do to get that win, throwing 94 pitches over eight innings, allowing four runs â but only two earned. The Marlins did indeed earn the victory, 6-4 over the Washington Nationals, and went on to win 84 on the season. They took one of the National League Wild Card spots but were swept in two games in the best-of-three Wild Card series by the Philadelphia Phillies.
That September 3 game, however, did not end well for Alcatara. On his 94th pitch he felt something wrong with his pitching arm and was subsequently forced to make his the first trip to the 15-day injured list of his then-seven-year career.
Alcantara did not pitch again in 2023. Just two days after the Marlins fell to the Phillies in their Wild Card playoff series, Alcantara underwent Tommy John surgery. He missed the entire 2024 season.
Alcantara Returns to Beat Mets
Now Alcantara is back. He opened the season on the mound for the Marlins March 27, matched up against last year’s NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Alcantara lasted 4 2/3 innings striking out seven and walking for while giving up two runs in the loss.
And then, on Tuesday, Alcatara took the mound again, this time against the New York Mets. Â Alcantara allowed two runs over five innings and recorded his first win since that fateful September 3, 2023, outing.
After the game, the Mets prized offseason signing, with a 13-year, $765 million contract, played general manager and recommended that the Mets make a trade for Alcantara.
âIt would be one of the best trades that we could have,â said four-time All-Star Juan Soto. âI know we have great pitching here, but adding a Cy Young winner like that would be huge. Itâs going to take a lot to get him.â
“Making that kind of deal would mean parting with serious prospect capital or key pieces from the major league roster,” wrote Andres Chavez of Empire Sports Media on Wednesday. “If the Marlins decide to listen to offers, the Mets will have to weigh whether Alcántara is the missing piece in their pursuit of a championshipâor just an expensive gamble.”
Cy Young Winner Takes 25 Percent of Miami Payroll
Why would the Marlins trade Alcantara? One simple reason: money.
With the lowest payroll in MLB at $69.99 million, Miami is paying 25 percent of that sum to one player â Alcantara. The 2023 Cy Young winner is set to be paid $17.3 million in the third year of his five-year, $56 million contract.
While it is not clear what the Marlins would ask in return for Alcantara, who would not be eligible for free agency until 2028, it makes sense that they would want pitching to make up for the loss of their Cy Young ace. The Mets have a minor league system well-stocked with arms. Three of the Mets’ top 10 prospects are pitchers, including No. 1 overall prospect Brandon Sproat, a 2022 third-round draft pick out of Florida
Sproat was “the Mets’ organizational pitcher of the year in 2024 and has emerged as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball,” according to the Mets cable television network SNY, which described the 24-year-old as “equipped with a four-seam fastball and sinker that sit in the mid-90s and can touch triple digits,” and ready for a starting rotation spot sometime in 2025.
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