Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara returned to action this season after missing 16 months due to Tommy John surgery in 2023. The team is hoping to see the former Cy Young winner return to top form in 2025, but his performances have been up and down so far.
In his fourth start of the season on Friday, Alcantara struggled against the Philadelphia Phillies. He was pulled after just two innings, having given up six earned runs on four hits, with two walks and only one strikeout. His record now stands at 2-1 with a 7.27 ERA.
“I’m not happy with how I’ve pitched in my last few starts,” Alcantara said after the game, according to Marlins reporter Kevin Barral on X. “It’s time to get back to being myself—getting into ‘Sandy mode’ and doing what I’m supposed to do every fifth day.”
Can Sandy Alcantara get back on track after return from surgery?
After sitting out all of last season to recover from surgery, Alcantara came out strong in spring training. He showed glimpses of his Cy Young-caliber form early on and wasted no time ramping up, reaching 99.3 mph with his fastball in February.
Alcantara got off to a solid start this season, allowing just four runs over 9.2 innings across his first two outings, earning a win and a no-decision. But the veteran right-hander has struggled recently, surrendering 10 runs over just 7.2 innings in his last two starts.
Despite his rough outing on Friday, Alcantara still showed strong velocity and threw strikes consistently, often getting ahead in the count. However, he couldn’t take advantage of those favorable situations and needed 61 pitches to get through just two innings—marking the second-shortest outing of his eight-year MLB career, per Paul Casella of MLB.com.
Alcantara remains one of the most coveted trade chips for teams looking to add starting pitching, but the Marlins have yet to decide whether they’ll move him. Given his status as the team’s highest-paid player and Miami’s history of trading top talent in favor of prospects, it seems likely Alcantara could be dealt at some point this season.
The Marlins have only made the playoffs twice in the past 21 years and have won just one Wild Card series during that span.
