The Marlins are suddenly acting like a team with a real choice to make, and the biggest one centers on Sandy Alcantara.
For much of the winter, Miami’s direction seemed pretty clear. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix moved Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs and Ryan Weathers to the New York Yankees, leaving Alcantara as the last major rotation name standing while the club leaned into younger arms, including Eury Pérez.
Even then, Alcantara’s future in South Florida never felt settled. The chatter around him never really stopped, and there was plenty of belief that Bendix would listen if the right offer came along.
That picture looked even more likely after Miami stumbled through April and May. At that point, the Marlins seemed headed for seller mode ahead of the August 3 trade deadline, with Alcantara the obvious headline piece.
Then June happened.
A scorching month pushed Miami back into the National League wild-card race, and now the club heads into its final series before the All-Star break tied for second place in the National League East with the Philadelphia Phillies and three games clear of the NL wild-card cut line. They’re also just three games behind the Atlanta Braves, which has changed the tone around the organization fast.
On Friday morning, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the signs are pointing toward Miami keeping Alcantara. Rosenthal wrote, "Barring an utter collapse, the hottest team in baseball not only intends to keep staff ace Sandy Alcantara, but also add strategically to its roster, according to people briefed on the club’s plans who were granted anonymity to speak freely,''
That would mark a major shift for a Marlins team that, for the first time in Bendix’s tenure, appears positioned to buy rather than sell. Miami has room to maneuver if it wants to push in, and Rosenthal’s reporting suggests the club plans to hold Alcantara and sort out the rest of the picture with 2026 in mind.
The timing makes the decision even more interesting. Miami just swept the Seattle Mariners with an 8-4 win on Thursday night at home, stretching its winning streak to six games. The Marlins went 20-6 in June, and they’ve kept that momentum rolling into July.
They’ll finish their pre-All-Star break schedule with three games against the Cleveland Guardians, and Alcantara is set to start the opener Friday night.
There’s still plenty of season left after the break, but Miami has played itself into a very different spot than the one it occupied in April and May. If the Marlins do keep Alcantara past August 3, it would take one of the most coveted arms off the market. And if Bendix follows through on that path, it looks like the right call.
In Other News...
Astros Suddenly Have A New Deadline Threat In The Mix
A strong recent stretch has nudged Miami into an unexpected spot as the trade deadline approaches, and it has the front office looking at ways to keep the momentum going. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Marlins are weighing upgrades at third base, in the back of the rotation and in the late innings, a mix of needs that suggests they see a chance to keep pushing rather than simply standing pat.
Third base is one obvious area to watch, with Isaac Paredes and Eugenio Suarez among the names floating around, while the pitching side could lead Miami toward a deeper market of starters and relievers. The list of possible bullpen fits is broad enough to show how many different paths the club could take, and it leaves the bigger question hanging: how aggressive will the Marlins be when the market starts to move? [Read more 🡒]
Braves Suddenly Have A Real NL East Problem In Miami
Since June 1, the Marlins have gone from an afterthought in the NL East to one of the hottest teams in baseball, piling up wins at a pace that has changed the conversation around the club. They are now nine games over .500, sitting just 2.5 games behind Atlanta in the division while also keeping themselves in strong wild-card position, and the turnaround has been driven by a mix of steady production and timely contributions from players like Otto Lopez, Max Meyer and Liam Hicks.
The latest roster move only adds to the sense that Miami has real staying power, even as it manages a few bumps along the way. Owen Caissie is on the 10-day injured list with a mild right calf injury, and the club has already had to adjust around that absence while keeping its recent momentum intact, a reminder that the Marlins are no longer just chasing the Braves but trying to hold their place in a crowded postseason race. [Read more 🡒]
Otto Lopez Just Reached A Marlins Milestone Nobody Saw Coming
The Marlins kept rolling with their sixth straight win, finishing off a sweep of the Mariners and pushing themselves to 10 games over .500. In the middle of it all, Otto Lopez kept doing what has quietly become one of the biggest stories in Miami, adding another hit to a season that has turned him into the kind of everyday force this lineup has been missing.
Lopezs production has been impossible to ignore, even in a clubhouse that has suddenly found a rhythm from top to bottom. Janson Junk also gave Miami a needed boost in his return from injury, working five innings in his first appearance since mid-May, and now the attention shifts to a Guardians series that begins with Sandy Alcantara on the mound. [Read more 🡒]