Mets get early look at potential trade target in Sunday's matchup with Marlins

The New York Mets will get an early look at a potential trade target for the rotation in Sunday's matchup with the Miami Marlins.

Feb 13, 2025; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara (22) practices during spring training at the Miami Marlins player development & scouting complex. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

After a successful spring training opener on Saturday, the New York Mets return to the field on Sunday for two split-squad games. In the second, they will get an up close and personal look at an ace they could target on the trade market.

The Mets entered spring training with Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea set to front their rotation. While both pitchers are solid options, neither of them would be considered a true ace. Senga is coming off of a season that saw him pitch a meager 5.1 innings in the regular season, so despite the optimistic projections, it will be a tall ask of him to come close to qualifying for the ERA title.

Kodai Senga 💪 pic.twitter.com/iykaLNRWBN

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 19, 2025

Meanwhile, Manaea took his game to a new level in 2024, pitching to the second-highest ERA+ of his career. However, it was still only a 114, and he otherwise vastly outperformed his underlying metrics. A Baseball Savant page full of blue indicates regression is coming and that it will not be pretty.

The top of the rotation has many clamoring for further additions to be made, though offseason acquisition Clay Holmes did his best to quell the voices with a fantastic performance through three innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League opener.

It still may not be enough to compete pitch for pitch in the National League East, where both the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves have multiple aces each, while the Mets realistically do not have one.

All of that could change should the organization look deeper into a pitcher they will face on Sunday when they take the field against the Miami Marlins. Sandy Alcántara will be taking the mound for the Marlins, allowing the Mets to get a closer look at the ace as he returns to action after recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Read More: Is Sandy Alcántara a Trade Target for the Mets?

Who else is excited for the return of Sandy Alcantara? ✋ pic.twitter.com/rnmjSaq0RR

— MLB (@MLB) February 1, 2025

Alcántara is a two-time National League All-Star and former Cy Young winner who pitches deeper into games than any other pitcher this generation. The ace has 12 complete games across his seven-year career (six of which came in 2022), with four of those being shutouts.

FanGraphs' projections of 178 innings may still be a little optimistic for Alcántara, especially when coming off of major surgery. The difference between him and Senga, however, is Alcántara has a much higher ceiling and a much more proven track record with over 900 innings in MLB compared to Senga's 171.2.

With the 29-year-old playing for the Marlins for the majority of his career, the Mets are all too familiar with the veteran. He has taken the mound against New York 15 times in his career and has a 3.07 ERA in those starts. Eight of those have come at Citi Field, where Alcántara holds a 2.89 ERA.

While they are familiar with Alcántara, Sunday's matchup will mark the first time the Mets have faced the righty since Opening Day of 2023. Later that year, the ace would leave his 28th start of the season early, subsequently needing Tommy John surgery.

At 1:10 PM EST on Sunday, the Mets will be the first opposing team to see what Alcántara is capable of after missing over a year of action. It could prove to be the spark that ignites the fire under the front office to go out and make a move.