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The Miami Marlins may be losing ground in the standings. If they sell at the trade deadline, Sandy Alcantara makes more sense to move than an injured reliever.

The Miami Marlins may be starting to come back down to earth a little bit after a strong start to the 2026 season. They are now 17-21 and sit nine games back of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East.

They will likely end up being sellers at the trade deadline if they cannot turn things around. They are essentially already buried in the NL East by the Braves. If they do sell, they have one big trade chip that teams will covet.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report listed the top trade chip for all 30 major league teams, and for the Marlins, Alcantara was named.

“It’s not often that the most likely trade candidate is also the most coveted player on the roster, but the only Marlin who will be a free agent in six months is Pete Fairbanks, and he’s on the IL with a 10.00 ERA,” Miller wrote. “The possible curveball here is a scenario in which the “second place in the NL East” Marlins are legitimately in the postseason hunt at the deadline and decide to hold tight to Alcantara. As of Tuesday morning, though, FanGraphs gives them just a 10.5 percent chance of making the playoffs.”

Why Alcantara Makes More Sense to Trade

With Fairbanks struggling and on the injured list, his trade value has gone down. If he can return and produce better numbers, then perhaps he could boost it again as an asset on an expiring contract that a contending team might overpay for in a trade.

However, until then, Alcantara remains the most likely trade chip. He has a club option for 2027, which is likely to be exercised as long as he keeps pitching well. Essentially, that is one extra year of club control, so that could drive his value up a little bit.

The former Cy Young and two-time All-Star is 3-2 with a 4.01 ERA in his eight starts this season, but his strikeout rate is down to 6.3 per nine innings. Still, he is another year removed from Tommy John surgery and is at least healthy.

Should a contending team need an arm to bolster its starting rotation, Alcantara is somebody they could overpay for and give the Marlins a lot of good prospects in exchange. That would set Miami up well for the future.

Due to Fairbanks’ struggles and injury, the likelihood of him being dealt is slim, so that would seemingly drive the price up for Alcantara.

Alcantara Trade Depends on Standings

Ultimately, Alcantara being traded will ultimately depend on where the Marlins are in the standings. They are a little better than expected, so there is a chance they could potentially pick up some ground in the wild card race.

The NL East is basically a one-team race at this point, but the next four spots are still up for grabs, which means Miami could find itself in second place. In that case, trading Alcantara may not be the best idea for a young team looking to take some steps forward this year.