Marlins May Have Just Turned the MLB Trade Deadline on its Head

The Miami Marlins are expected to be major sellers at the MLB trade deadline, which obviously does not come as much of a surprise given their history.

However, this time around, the Marlins may genuinely be on the fence concerning one player: former Cy Young-award winning pitcher Sandy Alcantara.

Alcantara missed all of 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and upon his return this season, the general consensus was that Miami would trade him. The problem is that Alcantara has been incredibly shaky throughout 2025, which has made things a bit dicey for the Fish on the trade front.

But recently, Alcantara has shown signs of turning things around, and you can bet it has captured the attention of every other contending ballclub around Major League Baseball.

Over his last two starts, the 29-year-old has gone six innings while allowing a grand total of two runs. In his most recent outing, he pitched six shutout frames, surrendering only three hits and registering six strikeouts. Oh, and he has only walked two batters in those past two performances.

Alcantara's ERA had ballooned to 8.47 prior to the last couple of starts. Now, it has dipped to 7.14, and while that is obviously still alarming, he has given a whole lot of people reason to believe that he may be figuring things out.

When he is 100 percent, the right-hander has proven to be one of the most dominant hurlers in baseball, and given that he is still under team control through 2027, he would command an incredibly hefty trade return if he continues this recent trend.

The Marlins had surely been hesitant to pull the trigger on an Alcantara trade previously. They definitely weren't getting top dollar for a guy coming off elbow surgery with an ERA north of 8. However, Alcantara's sudden uptick has likely made Miami more amenable to fielding offers, as the Fish can now be a bit more selective with their return package.

Should Alcantara seriously become available between now and July 31, it would unquestionably create a ripple effect around baseball and would make the trade deadline that much more intriguing.

Read More Miami Marlins Coverage