No matter what, this can't be Sandy Alcantara's last home game for Miami Marlins

One thing is for certain: Friday night had better not be the last time Sandy Alcantara takes the mound for the Miami Marlins in 2025.

Sandy could have thrown a perfect game Friday night, narrowly outdueling fellow former Cy Young winner Tariq Skubal of the Tigers, and that would still be true. No matter how epic, no matter how packed loanDepotPark was or wasn't, the Marlins have to finagle things to let Alcantara take the mound during the final weekend of the season.

The good news is that this is already looking pretty likely when you do the Miami Marlins starting rotation math.

The concern of this not working out would be if Miami went with the traditional five-man approach the rest of the way, which would result in Alcantara ending his 2025 season on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies. Yet the Marlins already went with a six-man rotation just to get Alcantara into this much more appealing Friday night contest with Skubal and the playoff bound Tigers, rather than a Thursday night meeting with the woeful Washington Nationals. On the other hand, this was a seven game week. Getting Sandy to a final loanDepot Park appearance in 2025 would require keeping that six-man rotation going through at least one off day, if not two. Not ideal, but doable.

Why does any of this matter for the Miami Marlins?

For one, there's the simple entertainment value of it all. The postseason ticket of the Phillies is beyond punched- nothing to see there. The team the Marlins play that final weekend in Miami though? That would be the New York Mets, who are currently free falling harder than Tom Petty in the NL Wild Card Standings. Already, Marlins social media is buzzing about the chance of depriving the Mets of a chance at playing on into October. The house would be packed, with Marlins fans making sure to come out for a chance to send all those beloved transplanted Mets fans home unhappy.

More importantly though is this- Miami Marlins fans need much more notice than they got this week that even the possibility of a South Florida swan song for Alcantara could be forthcoming. The Marlins faithful need every opportunity they can get to come out, or heck even tune in, for Alcantara's last start in a Marlins uniform. Even without a championship on his resume, Sandy has already etched himself onto the Marlins Mt. Rushmore of much of the fanbase- even some of those old enough to remember the championships.

In short, Alcantara deserves a hero's send-off if the Marlins chapter of his career is coming to a close. Not last minute notice on when a start is happening, with very little fanfare.

Now, the fact that this game isn't being treated like an end of an era is actually pretty promising news for Marlins fans. The only takeaway from that is that Sandy is getting at least one more Marlins start in Miami...if not many more months worth.

Here's hoping it's the latter.