Report: Marlins close to five-year extension 'north of' $55 million for one-time All-Star SP Sandy Alcantara
Sandy Alcantara's 20-34 career mark as an MLB starting pitcher doesn't exactly do the righthanded flamethrower justice. His peripheral numbers during his young career have been, for the most part, All-Star-worthy. The Miami Marlins know this and are reportedly close to signing the 26-year-old one-time All-Star to a long-term deal.
In 2013 at the age of 17, Alcantara — a native of the Dominican Republic — signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as an international free agent. He worked his way through the Cardinals' minor league system over the next few years before making his MLB debut in September 2017.
After pitching in just eight games with St. Louis, Alcantara was traded to Miami along with now-Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen and two others in the offseason in a five-player deal in exchange for Marcell Ozuna. Alcantara made only six starts in 2018 before his breakout season in 2019.
That year, while he went just 6-14 as a part of a 100-loss Miami squad, Alcantara also compiled a 3.88 ERA and 1.31 WHIP across 197.1 innings pitched in 32 starts. The hurler tied for the major league lead with two complete game shutouts, his innings total was seventh-most in the league and Alcantara made the National League All-Star Team.
In the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, the Miami ace went 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.19 WHIP across 42 innings pitched in seven starts. Alcantara's win-loss numbers again suffered in 2021 due to playing on a poor team — the Marlins went 67-95 — but aside from the 9-15 record, his numbers were arguably the best of his career.
Alcantara set career-highs and career-bests in innings pitched at 205.2, strikeouts with 201 and WHIP at 1.07.
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