Why an Alcantara trade with Marlins should be on Red Sox' radar

Why an Alcantara trade with Marlins should be on Red Sox' radar originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Red Sox made significant investments in their starting rotation last offseason, acquiring Garrett Crochet in a blockbuster trade while signing Walker Buehler and Patrick Sandoval in free agency.

But you could argue more investments are needed.

Crochet has been lights-out (1.13 ERA through five starts), but the rest of the staff has been average at best; 2024 All-Star Tanner Houck has allowed 21 runs in 24.2 innings (7.66 ERA), while Buehler needed a Patriots’ Day gem against the lowly Chicago White Sox to lower his ERA to 5.63.

Sean Newcomb, Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins have had some success in spot starts but are stopgaps for injured starters Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello, who both struggled with inconsistency in 2024. (Bello will make his 2025 debut Tuesday.) Entering Tuesday, Boston’s starters ranked 20th in MLB in WHIP (1.30) and 22nd in batting average against (.251).

That’s all to say the Red Sox would benefit from another quality starter. And while the MLB trade deadline is still three months away, Miami Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara is a name worth watching.

A two-time All-Star, Alcantara is entering the second-to-last year of his contract with the rebuilding Marlins, who lost 100 games in 2024. Miami desperately needs hitting, and Alcantara would be a natural trade chip to acquire a young, impact bat. In fact, ESPN’s David Schoenfeld listed Alcantara as one of his top trade candidates to monitor as the deadline nears.

And if the Marlins want young, impact bats, there are few better places to look than Boston.

Seven of the Red Sox’ top eight prospects are position players, and while the “Big Three” of Roman Anthony (outfielder), Kristian Campbell (infielder) and Marcelo Mayer (infielder) draw all the headlines, there’s also the likes of middle infielder Franklin Arias — Boston’s No. 4 prospect and MLB.com’s 72nd overall prospect — outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia and middle infielder Yoelin Cespedes.

Arias and Cespedes are both 19 years old with tantalizing upside, while Garcia is a 22-year-old masher who hit 23 home runs with an .892 OPS over 107 games in the minors last season.

Could the Red Sox package some combination of those prospects in a trade for Alcantara? Or would they even consider trading Mayer, who was formerly Boston’s No. 1 prospect but has battled injuries and inconsistency in the minors to date?

At the very least, Boston should consider these scenarios when it comes to Alcantara, who is two seasons removed from winning the National League’s Cy Young award in 2022 with a 2.28 ERA over 32 starts. The 29-year-old missed the entire 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery and has scuffled early in 2025, but the potential clearly is there, and an extra year of team control on his contract ($21 million team option in 2027) only increases his value.

A lot can happen between now and July 31. But if the Red Sox are serious about contending in 2025, they should at least have irons in the fire regarding starting pitchers ahead of the deadline, and Alcantara should be at the top of their list.