If Sandy Alcántara Truly Available, Jed Hoyer Needs to Explore Deal
With the regular season quickly approaching, most teams are done with their offseason moves. There’s always room for improvement, however, especially for the Cubs. As noted in Thursday’s Rundown, Jed Hoyer’s team is probably one impact player away from truly being contenders. Adding a power arm to the rotation would put them in tremendous position to make noise in the postseason.
Jon Morosi recently mentioned hard-throwing Marlins righty Sandy Alcántara as a likely trade candidate. Morosi likes the potential of a trade happening at the deadline, but MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds seems to think a deal will happen before Opening Day. Alcántara is under contract for two more seasons at $17 million per year with a club option in 2027.
I expect Sandy Alcántara will be traded in July.
My friend Harold Reynolds says the deal will happen *before Opening Day*.
Loved the discussion this morning on @MLBNetwork. https://t.co/5qUKtTUTBO
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) March 6, 2025
Matthew Boyd was Hoyer’s biggest starting pitcher acquisition this winter, and he’s slotted in as the fourth pitcher in the rotation. Multiple possible additions were floated around, including former Marlins lefty Jesús Luzardo. A deal that would have sent Luzardo to Chicago was in the works but fell apart due to injury concerns. Hoyer is clearly familiar with the Marlins organization, so perhaps he could pivot and make a late splash with the addition of Alcántara.
The right-hander won the Cy Young Award in 2022, posting one of the most dominant seasons in recent history. He finished with a 2.28 ERA, 207 strikeouts, and only 50 walks in 228.2 innings while leading all of MLB with six complete games. For a Cubs team with plenty of stamina questions, a starter who can average over seven innings per start would be a great boost.
As the rotation stands today, Craig Counsell doesn’t have a hard-throwing arm in his arsenal. Ben Brown, whose fastball sits around 96 mph, is easily the hardest thrower among potential starters. Alcántara not only averages 98 mph on his four-seam, but he’s already hit triple digits several times this spring. To no one’s surprise, Alcántara has performed well overall with no runs allowed in just under six innings.
Waiting until the trade deadline to acquire Alcántara could lower the perceived risk that he fizzles out as the season moves on. But that’s more like what a rebuilding team would do, not a group that expects to be in contention like the Cubs. They need to bolster their rotation and show they truly want to compete in 2025.
Kyle Tucker is probably only in Chicago for one year, so having a fantastic rotation for the whole season is much better than trying to sprint down the stretch. If Marlins baseball ops boss Peter Bendix is truly willing to trade his ace in an effort to revamp Miami’s farm system, Hoyer needs to get on the phone immediately and get a deal done.
