Will Sandy Alcantara be with Marlins long-term? ‘Sandy is here right now’
The Miami Marlins have already announced that ace right-handed pitcher Sandy Alcantara will take the mound for Opening Day on March 27.
But how long will he be with the Marlins after that? That’s the $17 million question.
The Marlins have spent the first year-plus under president of baseball operations Peter Bendix building up the organizational depth at the expense of the team’s top MLB players.
Among those: Pitchers Jesus Luzardo, Trevor Rogers and A.J. Puk; infielders Luis Arraez, Jake Burger and Jazz Chisholm Jr.; and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz.
Could Alcantara, who accounts for $17.3 million of the Marlins’ projected $70 million payroll for the 2025 season, be next? Marlins executives wouldn’t give a commitment either way.
“Sandy’s under contract,” Marlins chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman said Monday before the Marlins’ first full-squad workout of spring training in Jupiter. “I was the one who extended him. He’s one of the better deals we did. We could talk about some of the deals that weren’t the right kind of deals, and I’m going to rely on the front office for all those decisions but Sandy’s our franchise right now. We get it.”
Alcantara is entering the fourth year of a five-year, $56 million contract extension that also includes a $21 million club option for the sixth year. After making $3.8 million in the first year of the deal, $6.3 million in Year 2 and $9.3 million in Year 3, Alcantara is due to make $17.3 million each of the next two seasons.
When healthy, he is arguably one of the league’s top pitchers and worth every penny.
In the four-year span from 2020-2023, Alcantara pitched to a 3.13 ERA over 100 games. He threw 661 innings and 10 complete games, including a pair of shutouts, over those four seasons. He was the unanimous winner for the National League Cy Young Award in 2022.
Alcantara missed all of the 2024 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but had a regular offseason and is full go in spring.
He’s the Marlins’ longest-tenured player, having been with the team since 2018, and for now is the face of the franchise.
But for how long? That remains to be seen.
“It’s something that we can’t really comment on, what might happen in the future,” Bendix said. “Sandy is here right now. Sandy looks as good as I think he’s ever looked in his career. He was sitting 98 miles an hour in a side session out on the field looking like he was just playing catch. That’s uncommon. That’s unusual. But really the even more unusual thing is the degree to which Sandy is that leader. He is the leader that everyone else looks to, and he is helping set the tone. So I’m thrilled that he’s here.”
Injury updates
▪ Outfielder Jesus Sanchez (right elbow inflammation) has been cleared for full hitting activities and is at final stages of throwing program
▪ Outfielder Jakob Marsee (lower level right oblique strain) is in a rehab progression.
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