MLB Insider Names Sandy Alcántara as Best Fit for Cubs at Trade Deadline

Could the Chicago Cubs land the biggest fish at the MLB trade deadline?

May 23, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara (22) pitches during the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs are legitimate World Series contenders with their 37-22 record, good for first place in the National League Central and second in the NL as a whole.

With a fearsome lineup led by MVP candidates in Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker with strong supporting pieces like Seiya Suzuku, Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ and Michael Busch, the Cubs own an offense that is readymade for the postseason.

On the other hand, the pitching staff has been depleted by a season-ending injury to Justin Steele and a shorter-term absence for Shota Imanaga.

With no guarantee that Tucker remains a Cub beyond this season, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer needs to be aggressive in maximizing the probability his team wins it all this year.

Can the Chicago Cubs Land Miami Marlins Ace Sandy Alcantara?

That will mean adding another top-of-the-rotation arm to the mix for October to help support Imanaga and get those big outs in the postseason.

ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan published his first trade deadline preview of the year, and he noted that Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara is the clear best fit for Chicago.

"Among Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon, the Cubs have a perfectly OK starting rotation to take into a playoff series," Passan wrote. "Considering the lineups they could face in the NL playoffs -- the Dodgers, Phillies, Mets and Diamondbacks, among others -- OK might not be enough."

Alcantara is an interesting proposition due to the balance of his current performance and his past pedigree.

He has legitimately been one of the worst pitchers in MLB this season, going 2-7 with an ugly 8.47 ERA. His strikeout rate is down, and his walk rate is up quite considerably in his first year back from missing the entire 2024 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery.

But in years past, Alcantara has been among the games best.

In 2022, he cruised to National League Cy Young Award honors with a 2.28 ERA and a sub-1.00 WHIP. He was dominant in 2021 as well, but in 2023 before his injury, he was rather pedestrian.

It would be a massive gamble for Hoyer and the Cubs to part with significant prospect capital for a pitcher who has not performed at an elite level in three calendar years.

That's especially true when there are other pitchers who are in much better form who could be on the market as well.

The upside is doubtlessly tantalizing, as peak Alcantara could emerge and lead an acquiring team to a championship, but it seems fairly likely as well that he is not usable in his regular role when the postseason rolls around.