Cardinals Surprisingly Named a Top Fit for Sandy Alcántara Trade

The St. Louis Cardinals have been among the best stories in baseball so far. While the Cardinals have been cold over the last week or so, the club has outperformed expectations overall this season.

When the 2026 season began, there were expectations out there among many that St. Louis would be among the worst teams in baseball. Those expectations were overblown. The Cardinals traded four veterans away, but had younger replacements ready to go for all of them. Rather than taking a step backwards, St. Louis has been better than most expected.

The Cardinals have been good enough that, with two months to go until the 2026 MLB trade deadline, some have speculated St. Louis has a fit to bring guys in, rather than flipping pieces. For example, CBS Sports' Mike Axisa floated the Cardinals as a "possible" landing spot for former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcántara.

"Possible landing spots: We can reasonably assume the team that trades for Alcantara will do so with the intention of picking up the option, thus making him a multi-year addition," Axisa wrote. "That opens up the market to teams that may be only on the fringes of the postseason race this year, but plan to be all-in next year. Think Astros, Cardinals, Orioles, Reds, etc."

Would It Make Sense For St. Louis To Make A Move?

May 21, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara (22) looks on against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Cardinals fans are certainly familiar with Alcántara. He began his big league career as a member of the Cardinals back in 2017 and made eight appearances with the club out of the team's bullpen. Over that stretch, he logged a 4.32 ERA in 8 1/3 innings pitched. St. Louis traded the righty, along with Magneuris Sierra, Zac Gallen, and Daniel Castano to the Marlins in exchange for Marcell Ozuna.

After he was traded, Alcántara turned into a star in Miami. He won the 2022 National League Cy Young Award and has earned two All-Star nods. Injuries sidelined him in 2024 and then he struggled in his return to the mound in 2025 with a 5.36 ERA in 31 starts. So far this season, he has a 4.59 ERA in 13 starts.

Alcántara is very talented and is just 30 years old, but it would be pretty surprising to see the Cardinals go out and make a move to acquire him. To get Alcántara, it would certainly cost some prospects. St. Louis has a great farm system, but it is in the early stages of a reset. So, trading prospects really doesn't make much sense right now. He's under team control for the 2027 season with a $21 million club option, but are the Cardinals one starter away from competing for a title? Probably not.

When it comes to Alcántara, he makes much more sense for the Cardinals than someone like Tarik Skubal or Freddy Peralta. But, still, don't expect to see this actually turn into reality.

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