Throughout the offseason, the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we debated the American League’s best team with Gerrit Cole injured. This week we’re going to tackle Sandy Alcantara’s future.
Where will Sandy Alcantara finish 2025?
Dayn Perry: I’ll say Mike Elias finally starts operating with a sense of urgency and responsibility and swings a blockbuster to bring Alcantara to the Orioles. They obviously need a frontline presence in the rotation after the departure of Corbin Burnes via free agency. As well, Grayson Rodriguez’s elbow woes have added urgency to the starting-pitching situation in Baltimore. To state the obvious, the O’s have the young talent to pull off such a trade. Elias’ prospect-hugging has done real harm to the team’s hopes since they emerged from the rebuild, and the guess here is that he does something about it before the trade deadline.
Mike Axisa: I’m going to go off the board a bit and will say the Tigers. They have one of the best farm systems in baseball, so they can win a prospect-package bidding war, and pairing Alcantara with reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal will be awfully tempting. Alcantara’s affordable contract (signed through 2026 with a club option for 2027) makes it even more of a no-brainer. He is a balance of power player who can swing a division race (especially the AL Central) and a postseason series all by himself. There aren’t many of those guys in the league and they’re hard to acquire even when they do become available. The Tigers are a team on the rise and I think they’ll seize the opportunity and bring Alcantara in.
R.J. Anderson: I’ll go with the Rangers. I think the Marlins will be aggressive in moving Alcantara, and that could lend itself to an early summer deal. The Rangers figure to be in the thick of the American League West race, and I think Chris Young has demonstrated in the past that he’s willing to make a bold move. Alcantara would, at least in theory, give the Rangers rotation some added length and reliability — and would help shield against further injury.
Matt Snyder: The Cubs are my pick. Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele are both very good pitchers who would make a nice No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, on a deep playoff run. Alcantara is an ace. Cubs president Jed Hoyer isn’t necessarily on a short leash, but he’s yet to make the playoffs in a full season since taking over for Theo Epstein and his contract only runs through this season. This is to say that there should be urgency to not only make the playoffs but also advance this season. The NL Central figures to be a close race and the Cubs have a deep farm system. All the ingredients are there for Hoyer to win on a deal here.
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