The San Diego Padres are off to a bit of a slow start this season. Through their first six games they are 2-4 and tied for fourth place in the National League West. Fortunately for them, they are only two games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, so first place is within reach.
They had a relatively quiet offseason, but still are coming off of back-to-back seasons in the playoffs, so there is certainly a lot to be excited about in San Diego. One issue they have run into however is that Yu Darvish is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
If they are still in the mix at the trade deadline, they will need to potentially look into adding a starting pitcher or two to fill that void. Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report listed right-hander Sandy Alcantara as a trade chip and the Padres as a possible landing spot.
“The righty finished last year with a 3.13 ERA over his last 12 starts,” Rymer wrote. “He started this year with seven scoreless innings on Opening Day. He sat in the 97-mph range with both his four-seamer and sinker, peaking at 99 mph.
“If Alcantara can keep this up, his $17.3 million salary and $21 million option might not scare even more thrifty spenders away.”
Sandy Alcantara Named Fit for Padres
Alcantara struggled last season in his first year back from Tommy John surgery of his own, posting a 5.36 ERA in 31 starts and finishing with a losing record. However, in his first two starts this season, he has yet to allow an earned run and has won both of them. He even threw a complete-game shutout in his latest start.
The Miami Marlins are off to a hot start, so they’ll have to falter for Alcantara to be made available. The expectation is that they will not last at the top of the NL East, and that the rest of the division will catch up to them.
If that happens though, the Padres make sense as a suitor. They’ll have to give up a good deal of prospects to get it done if Alcantara keeps up his hot start, but if the Padres can turn things around, then they’ll need to find a way to boost their rotation with Darvish out for the season.
Alcantara won a Cy Young award in 2022 and is also a two-time All-Star. He missed all of 2024 due to his elbow surgery.
Potential Trade Depends on Padres, Marlins Trajectory
Any potential trade depends on where these two teams stand at the trade deadline. If the Marlins keep up their hot start to the season, then trading Alcantara doesn’t make sense, especially given the starting pitching depth they have in the organization.
Meanwhile, if the Padres can’t turn things around, they might end up as sellers at the deadline instead of buyers, which would take them out of the running for somebody like Alcantara. But a lot depends on where each team stands when the deadline gets closer and the playoff picture is clearer.
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