The Sandy Alcantara trade chatter is about to pick up again, and this time it doesn’t sound like noise. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, teams will be back in Miami’s ear this winter, trying to pry the Marlins’ ace away after a strong finish to the season.
“Teams will try once again to pry ace Sandy Alcantara from the Miami Marlins this winter,” Nightengale writes. “He has been sensational of late, yielding a 1.99 ERA since July 4, pitching at least six innings in all 10 starts.”
That’s a far cry from where things stood earlier in the year. Alcantara went through a rough 2025 season, and Miami decided not to move him at the deadline. His 5.36 ERA didn’t exactly create a rush of buyers.
But the Marlins held onto him through the 2025-2026 offseason, and the payoff has been obvious. In 29 starts this season, Alcantara has posted a 3.46 ERA with 3.4 bWAR for Miami. He’s thrown 189.2 innings, struck out 140 batters and logged a 113 ERA+.
He may not be the Cy Young version of himself from 2022, but he’s still giving the Marlins exactly what contenders covet: volume, stability and quality innings from the front of a rotation.
At 30 years old, and with club control through the 2027 season, Alcantara is going to be one of the biggest names on the market if Miami listens this winter. The longer the Marlins wait, the more the conversation feels like it’s headed toward a crossroads.
They could still try to keep him around on a long-term deal and make him a franchise centerpiece for the rest of his career. But if that’s not the plan, dealing him this offseason may be the cleanest way to avoid watching a top arm walk away for nothing after 2027.
In Other News...
Brayden Taylor Now Faces One Big Marlins Question
The Marlins kept themselves in the National League wild card chase after the trade deadline, but they also stayed true to the long view by making a move for infielder Brayden Taylor from the Rays in the Liam Hicks deal. Taylor is working at Triple-A Jacksonville for now, yet he already fits the kind of player Miami has been stockpiling during its rebuild: someone with power, speed and enough upside to matter beyond the immediate standings race.
For the Marlins, the real question is not whether Taylor belongs in the organization, but when he becomes part of the big picture. The expectation is that he is headed toward the major league roster in 2027, which gives Miami time to let the bat and legs keep developing while the current club tries to stay afloat in the playoff picture. In a season where the front office has had to balance present ambition with future planning, Taylor is one of the clearest reminders of where this roster is supposed to be headed. [Read more 🡒]
Marlins Man Is At The Center Of A Bizarre StubHub Fight
Laurence Leavy, better known around baseball as Marlins Man, has found himself in the middle of a strange ticket dispute that has spilled beyond the ballpark and onto social media. Leavy says StubHub sold him seats with numbers that do not exist, a claim that turned into a tense back-and-forth with the company over what should have been a straightforward guarantee.
Leavy says he spent about an hour arguing with a StubHub supervisor, and the disagreement has only grown louder as he has publicly pressed the issue online. He has even raised the possibility of legal action, though there is still no confirmation that StubHub broke its policies, leaving the fight to sit in an awkward gray area for now. [Read more 🡒]
Marlins September Callups Could Force Tougher Roster Decisions Soon
The Marlins September roster moves brought a familiar kind of late-season juggling, with infielder Graham Pauley and right-hander Bradley Blalock joining the active group as Miami looks to cover innings and keep the infield steady. Pauleys addition gives the club another option after Xavier Edwards was hurt, while Blalock arrives after spending the year as a steady presence in the Triple-A Jacksonville rotation.
What makes both callups more than simple depth moves is the long view attached to each player. Pauley and Blalock are both out of minor league options after the 2026 season, which means every decision Miami makes now carries a little extra weight beyond September, especially if either player shows enough to complicate the roster picture going into next year. [Read more 🡒]