Marlins Receive Stern MLB Trade Deadline Warning They Should Definitely Heed

The MLB trade deadline is quickly approaching, which means the Miami Marlins will be front and center when it comes to trade talks, as usual.

The Marlins have long been known as a warehouse of MLB talent for contending teams, as we saw last summer when they jettisoned a good chunk of their roster (but also landed some pretty nice pieces in return).

This time around, the biggest name floating in Miami trade speculation is starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara, the former NL Cy Young award winner who has hit a bit of a rough patch (to say the least) in his first season back from Tommy John surgery.

While trade buzz will likely encircle Alcantara right through July 31 (assuming the Marlins don't pull a Luis Arraez and move him before then), the Fish may be best served actually retaining the 29-year-old through 2025.

ESPN's Bradford Doolittle has sent a rather stern warning to Miami in that regard, advising the Marlins to hold onto Alcantara this summer unless he suddenly surges in the coming weeks.

"This deadline is really about do they/don't they with the former Cy Young winner. Alcantara's stuff has rebounded well enough from his missed season, but his command has been slow to follow," Doolittle wrote. "At one time in evaluative circles, Alcantara's unsightly 7.89 ERA might have taken too much air out of his trade value for the Marlins to move him now. But this is one offshoot of advance tracking: The outlook of a pitcher can change fast if his metrics spike or tank. A spike is what the Marlins need from Alcantara, or else they might as well hang onto him."

Alcantara's control has been a bit haywire this year, as he has walked 30 batters over 57 innings. For someone who owns a lifetime ratio of 2.8 walks per nine innings, that is more than alarming. He has also surrendered 50 earned runs, which leads the major leagues.

The right-hander certainly showed some signs of life in his most recent start, giving up just two runs across six innings of work in a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies, but it's going to take more than just one good outing for Alcantara to rebuild his trade value.

Alcantara is under team control through 2027 (the last year of his current deal is a club option), so the Marlins don't have to feel significant pressure to trade him now. In fact, given how much he has struggled, it would behoove Miami to keep him and then revisit discussions in the offseason if Alcantara turns things around in the second half.