3 Landing Spots for Trade Candidate Sandy Alcantara

It almost always takes until that second year back from Tommy John surgery before a pitcher can come close to returning to his pre-operation form. That appears to be exactly what's happening for the Miami Marlins' former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara.

After struggling to a 5.36 ERA in 2025, his first year back on the mound, Alcantara has come out smoking hot through two starts this season, flashing his 2022 Cy Young form. In 16 innings, he's allowed just seven hits and no earned runs with a 12:2 strikeout to walk ratio. The Marlins ought to move quickly to trade him—if they still want to. Alcantara was on the block all last season, but the Fish didn't like the bait they were tossed on the trade market, so they held onto him.

If the Marlins still do want to cut bait from Alcantara, let's take a look at three teams that would be all over it, per Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Report.

Houston Astros

The Astros' rotation is a huge question mark this season after ace Hunter Brown. No. 2 man Mike Burrows has had a shaky start; No. 3 Tatsuya Imai got rocked in his major league debut; and Cristian Javier hasn't pitched a full season in three years and also got hammered in his season debut. Then there's Lance McCullers Jr. Yes, he had a great first start, but he hasn't been healthy for a full season in five years, and didn't pitch at all in 2023 and 2024.

This is a team that desperately needs another top-flight ace in its rotation.

San Diego Padres

The Friars also have plenty of holes to fill in their rotation. Yu Darvish is out for the year, Dylan Cease is firing on all cylinders with the Blue Jays, and Joe Musgrove, who hasn't started in the majors in two years, isn't expected to debut until late April. Landing an ace like Alcantara is crucial for them.

New York Yankees

The Yanks have been linked to Alcantara for the better part of a year. They came close at the 2025 trade deadline, but the Marlins' high asking price scared them off. In their own rotation, the Bronx Bombers will be waiting on aces like Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon for quite a while yet this season, and it's likely they take another big swing at landing Alcantara this year