Alcantara working on new pitch. Plus three Marlins pitchers’ roads to recovery
Sandy Alcantara already has a pretty deep arsenal of pitches at his disposal, a combination of high-end fastballs and swing-and-miss offseeed options that can be devastating for hitters when he’s at full strength.
He’s working to add even more to his repertoire.
Alcantara is adding a sweeper into his arsenal, one that already includes a four-seam fastball, sinker, cutter, slider and changeup.
Alcantara said the main reason to add the pitch is to add an option that is slower and has more break than what he generally throws. Both of his fastballs average more than 97 mph. The changeup averaged 90.4 mph, while the slider averaged 89.4 mph.
“Me and [pitching coach Daniel Moskos] had a conversation last year about that,” Alcantara said. “We need a pitch that breaks more and is more slow. Finally, we have it.”
Alcantara said he threw the pitch nine times during his pitch design session on the backfields Thursday with hitters standing in the box. He has been working on it since the offseason.
That included one to Javier Sanoja that forced the utility infielder to swing and miss. Sanoja’s whiff prompted Moskos to shout “DR 1-0!” while standing behind Alcantara. Alcantara will be pitching for the Dominican Republic in next month’s World Baseball Classic. Sanoja will be playing for Venezuela.
Injured Marlins working their way back
Left-handed pitchers Andrew Nardi and Braxton Garrett didn’t throw a pitch for the Marlins in 2025, their seasons washed out by injuries — a nagging back injury for Nardi and a torn UCL that required Tommy John surgery.
Right-handed pitcher Max Meyer, after a strong start to the season, barely made it to June before he had to undergo left labral hip repair surgery that shelved him for the final four months of the season.
All three pitchers could be instrumental for the Marlins as they try to build upon a surprise 2025 season that saw them stay in the playoff race until the end of the season.
And all three have taken the needed first step toward showing they can contribute to the Marlins in 2026.
Nardi, Garrett and Meyer all threw off the mound Wednesday during Miami’s first day of spring training at the newly renovated Marlins Jupiter Academy.
“Everybody was out there to watch,” Nardi said Thursday. “I was just super excited to be on the mound again in cleats and the warmth again. So it was just amazing.”
Nardi, who last pitched in a game on Aug. 21, 2024, threw 30 pitches during span of two simulated innings, sitting for about five minutes after his first 15 pitches. He said he felt sore the day after but “overall felt good” about his first outing on the mound.
“I think everybody’s happy where I’m at right now,” Nardi said, adding that he will most likely face live hitters in his next throwing session.
Nardi’s return would be a boost for the Marlins’ bullpen. He had a breakout 2023 season, pitching to a 2.67 ERA over 63 games (most in high leverage) before getting off to a rough start in 2024 and finishing with a 5.07 ERA in 59 games.
Miami is in need of left-handed relief pitching. Cade Gibson was the Marlins’ only reliable southpaw out of the bullpen last year. A return from Nardi — plus the addition of left-handed reliever John King — could help a right-handed-heavy relief corps.
Meanwhile, Garrett and Meyer are projected to once again be fixtures in Miami’s rotation led by Alcantara and Eury Perez.
Garrett had a solid two-year run in 2022 and 2023 before losing essentially all the past two seasons to injury. He pitched seven games in 2024 before a season-ending left forearm flexor strain and then the subsequent Tommy John surgery.
Garrett, who had also previously undergone Tommy John surgery as a prospect in 2017, said he missed the “butterflies” and the “little bit of anxiety when you get ready to pitch.”
“It’s been awhile,” Garrett said,” so feeling it for the first time again will be a lot of fun.”
That said, Garrett noted that the organization made the rehab process a smooth one.
“They worked with me on a schedule that was comfortable for me,” Garrett said. “Of course it was hard, especially when the team was on the road. I really looked forward to when the team was at home, but yeah, thanks to the organization, it wasn’t as bad as it could be.”
As for Meyer, he said the hip injury is a thing of the past. He progressed through a normal offseason with no limitations.
But his goal is to make sure he can pitch an entire season — something he has struggled to do at the MLB level.
Meyer had to undergo Tommy John surgery two starts after his MLB debut, which wiped out his 2023 season.
He started just 11 games in 2024, but that’s also because the Marlins sent him down to Triple A Jacksonville for three months to ease his workload in his first season back from surgery. He missed the final month of the season due to right shoulder bursitis.
And then there was the 2025 season that ended after 12 starts due to the hip.
Meyer tried to find a glass-half-full approach to the time he was sidelined, although that hasn’t been easy.
“You just can’t sulk going through injuries like that,” Meyer said. “You always have to be there for your teammates. You’ve always got to be a good guy in the locker room. Even when you’re on the shelf for a long time, you can help the team out by being with guys who are maybe down or playing games, having fun in the locker room. You just have to just attack it a different way every day.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2026 at 2:34 PM.
.JPG)