Surprising Turn Of Events In Sandy Alcantara Trade Talks

One of the names we've been hearing on the rumor mill for well over a year now is Sandy Alcantara, the Miami Marlins former Cy Young winner. His return from Tommy John surgery in 2025 was a bumpy road, but he's gotten better results this season with a 4.00 ERA, though his strikeouts are down. But there are no more questions about his elbow, as he leads the majors in starts (19) and innings pitched (123.2). 

He's been linked to nearly every team in need of pitching the past couple of years. In fact, it was only a month ago that ESPN's Jeff Passan suggested that Alcantara would be the perfect acquisition this season for the Toronto Blue Jays. 

But the latest report from insider Ken Rosenthal is that Alcantara's destination for this year's trade deadline is... Miami. He's not going anywhere. 

The Marlins are on a tremendous run and currently hold down a Wild Card spot in the NL. They are not going to be sellers this year. 

Barring an utter collapse, the hottest team in baseball not only intends to keep staff ace Sandy Alcantara, but also add strategically to its roster, according to people briefed on the club’s plans who were granted anonymity to speak freely. 

Miami owner Bruce Sherman recently signaled the team would hold Alcantara, telling Marlins Radio, 'He’s our franchise icon, and for us, I look forward to many years in the future and what this all becomes.'

 The Fish are 16-4 in their last 20 games, and that stretch, says Rosenthal, equals the best single-season 20-game span in their 34-year history. They're also 26-8 over their last 34 games. 

They're now 10 games over .500, tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for the second Wild Card, with a three-game lead on those chasing them. They're also just three games back of the Atlanta Braves for first place in the NL East.

In fact, instead of trading Alcantara, the Marlins will look to add a back-end rotation arm to firm up the staff. The top three of Alcantara, All-Star Max Meyer and Eury Pérez would be a handful for any team to face in the postseason.