With 13 pitchers on the injured list and two-way player Shohei Ohtani slowly increasing his workload on the mound, the Los Angeles Dodgers could be in the market another starting pitcher.
Ezoic
The trade deadline is right around the corner, giving the Dodgers a chance to bolster their depleted rotation.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan linked right-handed Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara as a potential trade target for the Dodgers.
Alcantara, who will turn 30 in September, won the National League Cy Young award in 2022 when he accrued a career-best 2.28 ERA and 207 strikeouts.
He did not do as well the following season — posting a 4.14 ERA — then missed all of the 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Alcantara initially struggled to return to his Cy Young form this season. The two-time NL All-Star currently holds a 6.69 ERA and has walked 34 batters in 15 starts.
But Alcantara shined on the mound in June. He logged a 2.74 ERA across four starts, and showed signs of the player he once was.
Alcantara signed a five-year, $56 million contract extension in 2021 that includes a club option for 2027. McDaniel and Passan said there is a 60 percent chance Miami will trade him, as teams may be more willing to take over the last two years of his contract in the offseason rather than the deadline.
Los Angeles added starting pitcher Jack Flaherty and reliever Michael Kopech at the deadline last season before winning the World Series.
However, the Dodgers have expressed not wanting to prioritize acquiring starting pitchers at the trade deadline, with hopes of the current starters being healthy for October.
“I’m still optimistic,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. “It requires guys coming back on or close to the timelines that we have penciled out. We have shown that, if we’re not in position to do that, we’ll be aggressive to add. But our strong desire is not to.”
However, if the Dodgers’ current starting pitchers remain unavailable, Alcantara would be a good option for Los Angeles not just for this season but for the future.
However, L.A. may be priced out of any deal as Alcantara’s value could be sky high, and the Dodgers may not want to part with too many top prospects for him.
