3 Best MLB Trade Fits for Miami Marlins Ace Sandy Alcántara

Sandy Alcántara is back. After missing the 2024 MLB season due to Tommy John surgery and struggling for the better part of 2025, the Miami Marlins’ ace has been exceptional out of the gate this season. Boasting an 0.74 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, a 528 ERA+ and 1.1 wins above replacement through his first three starts and 24.1 innings pitched, Alcántara is performing once again like the pitcher who won the 2022 National Cy Young Award. With that in mind, while Miami is coming off a competitive 2025 campaign (79-83) and has a chance to be in the NL wild-card mix this season, the reality is teams are going to make compelling trade offers for Alcántara, who has a team option for 2027. Here are the three best trade fits for the right-hander. San Diego Padres Michael King is an ace, and Randy Vasquez is coming into his own. At the same time, San Diego could use another impactful starter, and Alcántara would cement their status as an NL contender. Prior to his electric start to this season, Alcántara found himself down the stretch of 2025, recording a 3.13 ERA across his last 12 starts after sporting a 7.22 ERA at the MLB All-Star break. Alcántara — who finds success by consistently throwing four pitches (changeup, four-seamer, sinker and slider), while mixing in a cutter and sweeper — keeps runners off the basepath and pitches deep into games. In fact, he has led the NL in complete games three times (2019, 2022 and 2023), including throwing six complete games in 2022. This season, San Diego’s rotation is 22nd in MLB in opponent batting average (.252) and 20th in WHIP (1.40). Granted, the Padres have played just 12 games. Relying on Joe Musgrove’s return from Tommy John surgery and one of Walker Buehler and German Marquez having a bounce-back year is risky. Bringing in Alcántara would remove the reliance on the aforementioned scenarios, making San Diego’s rotation a front-line staff again. The Padres could base an Alcántara trade package around former first-round left-handers Kruz Schoolcraft and Kash Mayfield, among other pitching prospects in a pitching-heavy offer. All that said, the Padres may feel they have to draw the line in the sand with gutting their farm system in trades (e.g., pulling off blockbuster trades for Blake Snell, Josh Hader, Juan Soto and Mason Miller), instead preserving their young prospect capital, while feeling that their rotation has the upside to turn a corner (King being healthy and Nick Pivetta building on a 2025 campaign that saw him post a career-best 2.87 ERA). Athletics You have to start somewhere, and the Athletics need long-term answers in their starting rotation. Enter Alcántara. The A’s have struggled mightily to develop pitching from within of late. To date, the 2026 season has been a continuation of last season for the A’s starting rotation. Coming off a 2025 campaign that saw their starting staff finish 27th in ERA (4.85), 25th in opponent batting average (.257) and tied for 23rd in WHIP (1.34), the Athletics are last in WHIP (1.71) and 29th in ERA (5.36) this season. Trading for Alcántara would allow the A’s to bypass waiting for a young pitcher to develop into a star, providing them with the anchor their pitching staff doesn’t possess and an accomplished veteran mentor for younger pitchers like Jacob Lopez and Luis Morales; Jeffrey Springs and Luis Severino haven’t been veteran pillars since their acquisitions in the 2024-25 offseason. Yes, the A’s enter April 9 with an underwhelming .226/.296/.355 team slash line. At the same time, this is an Athletics’ nucleus that, talent-wise, is arguably the best young positional core in the sport. Highlighted by Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers, they have a lineup of future perennial All-Stars and one that was fifth in hits (1,403), batting average (.253) and slugging percentage (.431) and seventh in home runs (219) last season. With a mere middle-of-the-pack rotation, the A’s have a fighting chance at being a playoff team this year. Acquiring Alcántara would be a tangible step toward accomplishing that feat. They could base a trade package for Alcántara around infielder Leo De Vries — who MLB Pipeline regards as the No. 4 prospect in the sport — and two of pitching prospects Jamie Arnold, Gage Jump, Braden Nett and Wei-En Lin. The only factor that could halt an Alcántara trade for the Athletics is them potentially feeling it’s more prudent to sign a premier starter to improve that aspect of their team before making a seismic trade for another pitcher, a move which is usually made with the expectation of being a playoff team. Baltimore Orioles The Orioles have the talent to make the playoffs, but they reside in arguably the best division in the sport (AL East). To break through, their starting rotation can’t just be improved: It has to be both a plausible and reliable unit. Acquiring Alcántara would provide them with that needed sense of security. Yes, Baltimore made multiple moves for its rotation in the offseason, acquiring Shane Baz and signing Chris Bassitt, among other moves. Still, that unit is just 26th in opponent batting (.262) and 24th in WHIP (1.45) this season. Moreover, Baltimore’s rotation was 26th in opponent batting average (.265), 24th in ERA (4.65) and 21st in WHIP (1.32) in 2025. Since Corbin Burnes’ 2024 free-agent departure, the Orioles have been seeking their bona fide ace. Alcántara, who threw a complete-game shutout on April 1 and has pitched through seven innings in each of his three starts this season, would become that pitcher for Baltimore. Put Alcántara next to Trevor Rogers, who has pitched at a Cy Young-caliber level since July of last season and was previously teammates with the right-hander in Miami, and the Orioles would have an elite one-two rotation punch. With Alcántara in the fold, Baltimore also wouldn’t be reliant on Baz taking the next step or Kyle Bradish staying healthy. Rather, it would be a bonus if these situations unfolded. What’s more, right-hander Zach Eflin underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of the season; Baltimore could use another starter, anyway. The Orioles could send outfielder and former first-round pick Colton Cowser, infielder Coby Mayo, right-hander Brandon Young and pitching prospect Trey Gibson, who’s in Triple-A, to Miami to acquire Alcántara.