Major League Baseball’s regular season isn’t even a week old, yet Miami Marlins lead decision maker Peter Bendix is already being asked about trading staff ace Sandy Alcantara — who, for his part, delivered 4 ⅔ innings of two-run ball on Opening Day, his first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023.
“It’s not even April, so I understand where the questions are coming from,” Bendix told MLB.com, “but until we get to the point of even considering trades, it’s not really something that I have much to comment on, other than it’s really great to see Sandy looking healthy, looking normal. It’s Game 3 of the season.”
While Bendix has a point — teams, even bad ones, generally don’t begin trade talks until closer to the summer — his past actions are partially to blame for the inquiry. Last year, Bendix traded now-three-time batting champion Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres on May 4. The Marlins were 9-25 at the time and Bendix was in his first season as Miami’s president of baseball operations, having been hired from the Tampa Bay Rays to rebuild the roster and modernize the organization.
“It really came together fairly quickly,” Bendix said after trading Arraez, “and felt like this was too good of a deal to pass up, frankly.”
Alcantara, 29, is expected to be a popular trade target if and when the Marlins open for business. In three seasons prior to his elbow operation, he compiled a 3.14 ERA (137 ERA+) and a 3.78 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 93 starts. What’s more is that Alcantara was the closest thing this era has to a workhorse, averaging more than 200 innings per season and roughly 6 ⅔ frames per start.
Alcantara is under contract through the 2026 season for a total of $34 million. His pact also includes a club option worth $21 million for the 2027 campaign. For reference, this past offseason saw nine different starting pitchers receive an average annual value exceeding $21 million, including the likes of Luis Severino and Nick Martinez. That is to say: Alcantara’s contract will work in the Marlins’ favor.
The Marlins, 2-1 on the young year, will conclude their season-opening series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday before welcoming Juan Soto and the New York Mets to town.
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