Last Wednesday, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report put out an interesting article that certainly caught my attention. The article, titled "Wild MLB Trade Ideas We'd Love to See Come True in 2024-25 Offseason," included an interesting trade idea that would make a ton of sense for our Washington Nationals. While certainly not as unpopular as their last proposal, let's take a look at the details of the proposed deal.
As for the trading partner for this proposed deal, that would be none other than the lowly NL East division rival Miami Marlins, who have had all sorts of their own issues over the last few seasons. However, one piece of the organization that has been an absolute bright spot for them is righty starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara. If you thought to yourself, "I haven't heard that name in awhile," well, you're not alone. He hasn't pitched since September 28th of 2023, and his last start ironically enough came against the Nationals in a 6-4 Marlins victory.
Why haven't we seen him? Alcantara underwent Tommy John surgery last October after experiencing symptoms of needing the surgery during a rehab assignment down in AAA. Trying to project Alcantara moving forward is hard, as after his magical 2022 season when he was the unanimous NL Cy Young award winner going 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA and 0.980 WHIP, he regressed tremendously in 2023 before his injury.
When Alcantara is eventually able to come back, will we be seeing the 2022 version who was dang near un-hittable at times? Or will we be seeing the 2023 version who looked more like a rotation's number 4 or 5 starter? It's really tough to say.
Anyways, as for the proposed deal, Miller proposed that the Nationals deal a pair of prospects in outfielder Robert Hassell III and righty flamethrower and Top 100 Prospect Jarlin Susana, in exchange for Alcantara. Now, let me just say for starters that this is a very intriguing proposal, but not one that I'm sure the Marlins would jump for. Hassell has struggled since coming over to the Nats' organization in the 2022 Juan Soto trade, but was bumped up to AAA Rochester late in the minor league season, and has showed a lot of good things so far in the Arizona Fall League. Susana took a major step forward this season while pitching for the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks, and went from a shot in the dark in the aforementioned Soto deal to one of the top prospects in the organization, and the sport as a whole.
While prospects are no sure thing, as I laid out earlier, Alcantara is no sure thing to bounce back in his elite form either, especially with a change of scenery. While getting rid of both Susana and Hassell would definitely hurt, I think if General Manager Mike Rizzo could get the Marlins to agree to this deal, then it would be worth pulling the trigger. Hassell could be deemed replaceable due to the phenomenal prospect depth the organization has in the outfield, and Susana is likely still a couple years away from making his MLB debut. Is getting rid of potentially two big pieces of your future worth it to make a deal for that veteran ace that the Nationals clearly need? Well, it certainly would be a much cheaper gamble from a financial standpoint.
According to Spotrac, Alcantara signed a pre-arbitration extension with the Marlins prior to his breakout 2022 season, and the Nationals would only be on the hook for $34.6M combined for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, and would have a club option for the 2027 season for a cap hit of $21M. That is certainly significantly cheaper than any of the big free agent starters such as Corbin Burnes or Jack Flaherty would demand, and Alcantara's value will likely never be lower than it is now.
Overall, the deal would make sense for both teams, as the Nationals would get a chance to take a swing on a guy who was arguably the best pitcher in baseball just 2 years ago, and the Marlins would get a chance to get some very solid value and pieces for their future as they continue on their endless rebuild. If Alcantara were to bounce back to his old form, the Marlins would certainly be able to demand more in a trade package, but if they don't think he will return to form then dealing him now would make a ton of sense.
What do you think about potentially trading for Sandy Alcantara? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.