Sandy Alcantara Trade Destinations: Top 3 landing spots for former Cy Young winner in chastening season

It's been a difficult follow-up season to Sandy Alcantara's incredible 2022, which saw him win the first Cy Young Award of his career. After dominating the league last season, Alcantara has struggled this season, more than doubling his ERA this year.

Through 88.2 innings this year with the Miami Marlins, Sandy Alcantara has a 2-5 record with a 4.97 ERA. During his 2022 Cy Young campaign, Alcantara finished with a 14-9 record, a 2.28 ERA, and 207 strikeouts in a league-leading 228.2 innings.

While it very well may be just a slow start to the season, Alcantara's poor performances have been concerning. It seems unlikely that the Miami Marlins would trade their ace only a few months after the best season of his career. However, crazier things have happened.

"They won’t trade him but Sandy Alcantara is a guy I’d give up the farm for" - @WillHolder9

Here's a look at three potential landing spots for the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner if the Marlins decided to cash in on his value sooner rather than later.

#1 - The Texas Rangers could make an "all-in" move for the superstar pitcher

As previously mentioned, it seems unlikely that the Marlins would trade Alcantara, however, the Texas Rangers may be one of the teams willing to send them an offer they could not refuse. Given the team's aggressive pursuit of Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Jacob deGrom, it would be unsurprising if the front office went all-in for the Marlins ace.

While the team would likely not want to move on from the 27-year-old pitcher, if the Texas Rangers were to send them an offer that included the likes of Jack Leiter or Josh Jung, it could be an intriguing addition to their core roster.

#2 - The Tampa Bay Rays have the farm system to potentially land Sandy Alcantara

While the Tampa Bay Rays are notorious for their low payroll, Alcantara's yearly salary in both 2023 ($6 million) and 2024 ($9 million) would be lower than their record offseason signing Zach Eflin ($11 million). So financially, it would not be an outrageous proposition for the club to make a move for him.

"Yes, without a doubt. Great call, Mat. I also wish there was some way the Rays could convince the Marlins to trade them Sandy Alcantara. I know that’s extremely unlikely, though not impossible given Rays very deep system." - @CostaRicanSurf

But if the Miami Marlins decided to move on from their superstar, it would need to be for a loaded prospect package, which is something that the Tampa Bay Rays could provide. If the Rays were interested in Sandy Alcantara's service, it would likely come at the expense of one of their top prospects such as Taj Bradley, Curtis Mead, or Kyle Manzardo.

#3 - The Los Angeles Dodgers have question marks surrounding the future of their pitching rotation

While the Los Angeles Dodgers have made their intentions about pursuing two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani clear, Sandy Alcantara could also be someone they might pursue this season. Given the injuries to starting pitchers Dustin May, Walker Buehler, and Julio Urias, the Dodgers' pitching rotation could use an established star.

"sandy alcantara to the dodgers at the trade deadline is gonna be wild" - @doyersjose

Not only could Los Angeles package several prospects such as Gavin Stone or Michael Busch, but given the team's track record of getting the most out of their pitchers, they could "fix" whatever performance issues Alcantara is battling through.