Miami Marlins missing chance to right a wrong by not starting Alcantara Tuesday night

There's no two ways about it: Sandy Alcantara should be starting for the Miami Marlins Tuesday night.

The only thing better than having your ace on the mound in a must-win series? Having him on the mound for two must-win series. That's what the Marlins are passing up by not giving Alcantara the ball on five days rest Tuesday, positioning him to take the hill again on five days rest Sunday against the Mets.

Yes, the Marlins have shifted to pitching him on six days of rest his last couple starts. Yes, he is their most valuable asset. Yes, it is his first season back from Tommy John surgery. Yes, the Marlins remain an almost impossible long shot to make the postseason.

The thing is, none of that matters right now.

Furthermore, the person that probably feels the most strongly about this isn't the author of the article, but its subject. You know Sandy wants the ball Tuesday. One could argue that Alcantara has struggled against Philadelphia in particular this season, and on the road overall. At this point, I thought about dissecting those Philly stats, explaining how most of the poor numbers came from one bad April outing when he was a very different pitcher. I also thought about pointing out that the road numbers have improved during this recent hot streak off his.

That's when I remembered the whole none of that matters thing. The lights have never been brighter than they are right now, and a former Cy Young winner in his prime is who you want to turn to in that moment. Obviously the decision makers behind these actions are long gone, but this is the franchise that once started Josh Beckett on three days rest. That sent Kevin Brown out to win the NLCS with the flu. Alcantara is absolutely the kind of pitcher that could be relied upon to raise their game for a must-win situation...and the Miami Marlins pretty much must win every game left on their schedule to have a shot at the playoffs. This IS their playoffs. The only objection to make there is to point out that it's been true since the Marlins landed in Colorado.

Speaking of playoff moments, this is also a chance to right a bit of historic injustice in the Marlins universe. Two years ago, the Miami Marlins made the playoffs...only to be rewarded with the opportunity to fly to Philadelphia without the services of their ace. There were lots of reasons that playoff series felt dead from the start, but none more so than the absence of Alcantara. This was a chance to sort of right that wrong, and would have paired nicely with getting the ball in Game 162 on Sunday.

Starting Tuesday would have guaranteed Sandy a playoff atmosphere start. Friday being one? That depends on a lot going Miami's way the next four days. It will almost certainly mean something to the Mets, but could just be about playing spoiler for the Marlins by that point.

At this point, I do feel obligated to stress that my problem is just with the not letting Alcantara pitch two more regular season games approach. The part about making sure he pitches again in Miami in 2025, and that fans know in advance when it will be happening? That's essential for the fanbase, that's good business, and that's what I pleaded them to do in article last week. If he really only can make one more start in 2025, then it does have to happen in Miami. I just disagree wholeheartedly with that only one start left in the tank premise.

Bottom-line? The Marlins should have rolled the dice and set him up to take the extra turn.

Unless, of course, the Marlins actually make the playoffs. In that case, great job keeping Sandy fresh for the first round.