Getty
Astros GM Dana Brown
Going into the 2026 season, one question surrounding the Houston Astros is whether or not they replaced left-handed pitcher Framber Valdez. The writing was on the wall as last season was coming to an end that his tenure in Houston was over. That ended up being the case over the offseason, but it took him a while to determine his new home.
Right before spring training began in February, he agreed to a three-year, $115 million contract with the Detroit Tigers. That gives Detroit manager A.J. Hinch a strong 1-2 at the top of the rotation with Valdez and Tarik Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner.
More MLB on Heavy: Red Sox Star Doesn’t Beat Around the Bush About Concerning Start to 2026 Season
Speaking of Cy Young Award winners, one pitcher whose name was mentioned as a trade candidate this offseason was Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins. He remained in South Florida to begin the season, but it remains to be seen if he’s still there following the trade deadline in August.
Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report listed some trade chips for the 2026 season. Alcantara was one of the players mentioned with Houston as a potential landing spot.
Houston Astros Linked To Miami Marlins Ace Sandy Alcantara
Despite being rumored to be moved at last year’s trade deadline and this winter, Alcantara remained in Miami. He was coming back from surgery in 2025. Teams were waiting to see what he looked like before making a push for him.
However, the 30-year-old proved he had recovered from the surgery that cost him the 2024 campaign. Alcantara went 11-12 with a 5.36 ERA in 174.2 innings with 142 strikeouts. He got stronger as the season went along. He was a big reason why the Marlins hung around in the National League playoff spot until the final week of the season.
“The Marlins still don’t seem especially likely to give Alcantara a shot to pitch in October. And whereas he couldn’t do it right away last year, he is rounding back into his Cy Young-winning form of 2022. The righty finished last year with a 3.13 ERA over his last 12 starts. He started this year with seven scoreless innings on Opening Day. He sat in the 97 mph range with both his four-seamer and sinker, peaking at 99 mph,” Rymer wrote.
Sandy Alcantara Will Have Plenty of Suitors
If Miami’s president of baseball operations, Peter Bendix, makes Alcantara available, there will be a lot of suitors. The Marlins already traded Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers over the winter. They kept Alcantara, who dazzled on Opening Day.
He pitched seven innings against the Colorado Rockies and needed just 73 pitches to pick up the win. If this were later in the season, he likely would have finished the game. His stuff was on point, and he had the Rockies guessing all night long.
Reuter also linked the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees to Alcantara. Bendix would likely want top prospects in return. He already traded Weathers to the Yankees for a haul of prospects. It’s unlikely New York would meet the asking price again.
As for Houston, they could use another arm to bolster their rotation behind ace Hunter Brown. If the Astros are going to finish ahead of the Seattle Mariners in the American League West, another top arm is needed, and Alcantara fits that bill.
Scott Roche Scott Roche covers college football, NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com and has three decades of sports writing, covering everything from college to professional sports. More about Scott Roche
More Heavy on Astros
Loading more stories
