Great news about a returning Miami Marlins ace

Did you miss the best pitcher on the planet? Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara is going to miss this entire season due to Tommy John Surgery, but he's made some serious progress upon a comeback next season. As The Fish are improving the roster for the future, you have to wonder, what can we expect from Sandy next season?

Sandy Alcantara is on his way back to the Miami Marlins next season.

Sandy Alcantara has been amazing for the Miami Marlins when healthy. From 2018 to 2020, he delivered a 3.69 ERA/4.45 FIP, with 7.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 45 games and 273.1 innings pitched. At this point, he just looked like a solid mid-rotation arm, with no real evidence that he would be taking steps forward

In 2021 however, Sandy did just that. He delivered a 3.19 ERA/3.42 FIP, with 8.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 33 games and 205.2 innings pitched. At a time when starting pitchers stopped pitching deep into games, Sandy was making it a regular occurrence. As a result, he was accumulating staggering numbers of innings on his arm. The 2021 season saw him officially turn into an ace, but he had more to show us.

In 2022, he went a step further. He delivered a 2.28 ERA/2.99 FIP, with 8.1 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9, in 32 games and 228.2 innings pitched. He won the NL Cy Young award for this historically amazing performance. In 2023 however, he could only deliver a 4.14 ERA/4.03 FIP, with 7.4 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 28 games and 184.2 innings pitched. It was that season that ended on a dark note, as it was revealed that he was injured and needed TJS.

Sandy Alcantara is currently throwing bullpen sessions, and has already reached 75% intensity! He's under control for the next two seasons for $17.3 million each season, and there's a $21 million team option on him for the 2027 season. Will the Miami Marlins trade him? Peter Bendix appears to be doing a quick re-tooling and with him not pitching this season, that won't happen in the off-season. He'll be on an inning limit next season, so that will limit interest among other teams, but if The Fish aren't contending and he's doing well? It's hard to tell what will happen.