Sandy Alcantara's trade value may never be higher

Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara showed a glimpse of what makes him one of the best pitchers in the National League on Tuesday, as he shut out the Philadelphia Phillies for seven innings to lead his team to a 1-0 victory. 

Making what could be his last start as a Marlin, Alcantara maximized his trade value and sounds like a player who could be on the move in the next five days. 

Sandy Alcantara is aware that he has no control over whether he is traded

Winning two straight games after losing 12 straight before Monday, the Marlins will be one of the teams selling at this year's trade deadline (Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. EST), as they sit nine games out of the National League East and two games out of the last Wild Card spot. Given where the Marlins are, Alcantara can see the writing on the wall that he may be traded, but realizes it's out of his control. 

“So I'm here, I play for the Marlins,” Alcantara said to Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. “I don't have much to say about if I'm going to get traded or not. So, always blessed to be here every day. If something happens, it just happens."

Spending the majority of his career with the Marlins, outside of eight games he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017 (Alcantara was one of four players dealt to the Marlins in the deal for Marcell Ozuna), the Marlins have been the 30-year-old's home for the past eight seasons. 

The Marlins trading Sandy Alcantara is in their best interest

Showing signs of being competitive, the Marlins have what it takes to compete for a Wild Card spot in the next few seasons. However, they are a few pieces short of that and will need to trade someone like Alcantara to get players back to help them get over the hump. 

A former Cy Young Award winner (2022) with a club option ($21 million) for next season, the Marlins will receive value back for Alcantara. Selling Alcantara now would be smart for president of baseball operations Peter Bendix.

Detroit Tigers ace and back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal is the top arm on the block, but with the Tigers likely seeking a massive return for the left-hander, Alcantara could be a nice consolation prize for any contending team looking to add a top arm. 

Alcantara has shown his durability since returning from Tommy John surgery two years ago. The two-time All-Star is leading MLB in innings pitched (150.2 IP) and quality starts (16).