As the July 31 trade deadline approaches, the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to be connected to some of the most intriguing—and complicated—names on the market. One of the more polarizing is Miami Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara, a former Cy Young winner whose recent performance raises real questions, but whose upside remains undeniable.
From Dominance to Doubt
Just three seasons ago, Alcantara was the best pitcher in the National League. He posted a 2.28 ERA across 32 starts in 2022, led the league in innings pitched (228.2), and struck out 207 batters en route to winning the NL Cy Young Award. It was a masterclass in command, durability, and composure.
But that version of Alcantara feels distant in 2025. After missing all of 2024 with a forearm flexor strain in his throwing arm, the 29-year-old has returned to the mound this season looking like a shadow of his former self. Through 20 starts, Alcantara owns a 4-9 record and a career-worst 7.14 ERA. He’s allowed 77 earned runs in just 97 innings, and his strikeout rate has cratered to 6.8 K/9—a significant drop for a pitcher once known for his swing-and-miss stuff.
According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, Alcantara “seems unlikely to move” ahead of the deadline, largely due to that performance drop and the $17 million owed to him in both 2025 and 2026, with a $21 million club option for 2027. But there’s one team that might be willing to take that gamble.
Why the Dodgers Might Be Interested
MLB Network analyst and former big-league pitcher Ryan Dempster thinks Los Angeles could be the perfect landing spot.
“Those numbers will scare some teams away,” Dempster said, “but it’s all about how a guy is throwing right now. He’s throwing the ball a little bit better, his stuff is coming back, his command is coming back, not giving up as many long balls. So if I’m going with a team right now that could use starting pitching, I’m going to say the Dodgers.”
Los Angeles has built a reputation as the place where struggling arms go to reinvent themselves. As Dempster put it: “They are the kings of getting an optimal out of a guy.”
There’s evidence to back that up. Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto both arrived in L.A. under different circumstances—Glasnow via trade from the Rays, Yamamoto via a major international signing—and both have since been named 2025 All-Stars. The Dodgers have also revived or elevated pitchers like Andrew Heaney, Tyler Anderson, and Alex Wood in recent years.
If Alcantara were to land in Los Angeles, he’d become the latest project in a long line of pitchers remade under the Dodgers’ pitching infrastructure.
High Risk, Unquestionable Upside
Any deal for Alcantara would be speculative at best and high-risk at worst. He has not been an All-Star since 2022 and hasn’t shown sustained signs of progress this season. His ERA remains north of 7.00, and his whiff rate has declined sharply.
Still, teams in October don’t win on depth alone—they win on frontline talent. And Alcantara, at his best, is still one of the few pitchers in baseball with ace potential. That makes him exactly the kind of player Los Angeles has been willing to bet on: talented, underperforming, and under the right circumstances, fixable.
Whether the Dodgers take that risk remains to be seen, but if they do, Alcantara’s next chapter could begin under the bright lights of Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine.