MLBTR Podcast: Megapod Trade Deadline Preview
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss various trade deadline topics, including…
- The Padres entertaining trade offers on Dylan Cease and Robert Suarez while also trying to win (1:25)
- The Royals have extended Seth Lugo instead of trading him and have picked up Randal Grichuk and Adam Frazier even though they’re just a borderline contender. (19:45)
- There have been rumblings that the White Sox could hold Luis Robert Jr. and pick up his 2026 option if they don’t get an offer they like now. (29:25)
- The Pirates are sellers but will they trade controllable guys like David Bednar, Mitch Keller, Oneil Cruz or Ke’Bryan Hayes? (40:25)
- Should the Marlins trade or hold Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera? (59:40)
- The Mariners acquired Josh Naylor from the Diamondbacks. Will that be their biggest move or are there more to come? (1:12:15)
- The Diamondbacks sold Naylor but have more moves to come (1:18:55)
- The Yankees acquired Ryan McMahon from the Rockies and are now dealing with the Aaron Judge injury (1:23:55)
- The Rockies now more open to selling than in recent years (1:34:50)
- The Twins are trading rentals but what about Joe Ryan, Jhoan Durán or Griffin Jax? (1:40:20)
- Does the Emmanuel Clase gambling investigation push the Guardians to sell? (1:47:40)
- What are the Cardinals doing? (1:52:10)
- What could the Brewers do? (1:56:30)
- What will the Reds and Giants do? (2:05:35)
- Will the Phillies do something bold? (2:11:05)
- The Nationals and MacKenzie Gore (2:12:30)
Check out our past episodes!
- David Robertson, Trade Chips For The O’s and A’s, And What The Rangers Could Do – listen here
- Rays’ Ownership, The Phillies Target Bullpen Help, And Bubble Teams – listen here
- Firings in Washington, Bad Braves, And An AL East Shake-Up – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke, Imagn Images
Marlins Select Troy Johnston’s Contract
The Marlins have selected the contract of first baseman/outfielder Troy Johnston from Triple-A, as MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola reported earlier today. No corresponding moves are needed, as Miami haf space on both its 26-man and 40-man rosters following the now-official trade that sent Nick Fortes to the Rays.
Johnston will be making his Major League debut whenever he appears in a game, which will mark a long-awaited career highlight for the 28-year-old. A 17th-round pick for the Marlins in the 2019 draft, Johnston has played at the Triple-A level in each of the last four seasons, with a solid .267/.345/.438 slash line, 35 home runs, and 57 stolen bases (from 66 attempts) to show for 1224 plate appearances at Miami’s top affiliate.
Despite these numbers, Johnston is only now getting his first look at the big league level. Ely Sussman of the Fish On First blog observes that Johnston would have been eligible for minor league free agency this year if he hadn’t been selected to the 40-man roster, so today’s move erases that scenario.
For now, the left-handed hitting Johnston figures to get some at-bats at first base in a platoon with the righty-swinging Eric Wagaman. He could also get some time at DH when Agustin Ramirez is behind the plate, and since Kyle Stowers missed yesterday’s game with an illness, Johnston might get some work in the outfield. Some more playing time could emerge for Johnston depending on the Marlins’ deadline plans, as Jesus Sanchez is a speculative trade candidate.
Padres Interested In Anthony Bender
The Padres are one of multiple clubs with trade interest in Marlins right-hander Anthony Bender, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Bender was listed 38th on MLBTR’s most recent ranking of the top 50 trade deadline candidates, and he is a controllable player who isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2027 season.
A 20th-round pick for the Royals back in the 2016 draft, Bender has spent all four of his Major League seasons in Miami, where he has quietly established himself as a very solid bullpen arm. Bender has a career 2.98 ERA over 178 innings, including a 1.83 ERA over 44 1/3 frames this season. The grounder specialist has a 50% groundball rate, and Bender’s key pitch is a sweeper that has dominated opposing batters since the reliever introduced the pitch to his arsenal prior to the 2024 season.
Bender’s strikeout rates have been inconsistent, and his modest 19.9 K% this year is well below the league average. As a groundball pitcher, batted-ball luck is a more prominent factor in Bender’s results, and his .188 BABIP explains why his SIERA (4.16) is far above his eye-opening ERA. Bender has also allowed a lot of hard contact this year but not high-impact contact, as he has strong barrel metrics and has given up only three homers in his 44 1/3 innings this year (and 14 home runs in his career).
The Marlins haven’t really had a primary closer this season, and Bender has been in the mix by recording three saves. It would seem that most teams interested in his services would probably view him as a set-up man more than a closer candidate, though the Padres’ situation is interesting in this regard. Closer Robert Suarez is technically under contract through the 2027 season, though he is widely expected to opt out of the final two years of his deal and test free agency this winter, making him unofficially something of a rental player heading into the deadline.
There has been speculation that the Padres could look to trim some salary by dealing Suarez to a team in need of saves, and then having one (or a closer committee) of Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam, and Adrian Morejon handle the ninth inning. Bender could hypothetically be added to this mix, giving San Diego another experienced arm for high-leverage work. The Padres are known to be working within pretty tight payroll parameters while trying to remain in contention, so trading Suarez and acquiring a reliever like Bender at a lower cost would be a creative way of threading the needle.
It should be noted that Miami is 25-14 over its last 39 games, bringing the Fish up to a 50-55 record. While this is a sign that the rebuild is moving in a positive direction, there is no indication that the Marlins will be doing anything but selling before Thursday’s trade deadline. Cal Quantrill is the only impending free agent on Miami’s roster, so the Marlins seem likely to trade from their long list of controllable players with some MLB experience (like Bender) to continue to add more young talent.
Rays Acquire Nick Fortes From Marlins
TODAY: Both clubs have officially announced the Fortes-for-Etzel trade.
JULY 28: The Rays and Marlins are reportedly in agreement on a trade that will send catcher Nick Fortes to Tampa Bay for minor league outfielder Matthew Etzel. Once completed, this will backfill the Rays’ catching depth. Tampa Bay traded Danny Jansen to the Brewers for an infield prospect on Monday evening. The Rays expect to announce the Fortes deal on Tuesday.
For the Rays, they often try to straddle a buy/sell line at the deadline and it seems that will be the play this week. They are 53-53 this year, three games back of a playoff spot. While they don’t want to punt their season, they seemingly want to strike a balance between doing things that work for the club now and in the future.
Jansen is a 30-year-old veteran on a one-year deal. He’s better than Fortes right now but Fortes is younger, cheaper and controllable for three more seasons after this one. Presumably, the Rays feel that going from Jansen to Fortes doesn’t significantly harm them in 2025, while adding a few seasons of Fortes and also grabbing Jadher Areinamo in the Jansen trade will help them in the long run more than Etzel.
Fortes, 28, doesn’t do a ton in the batter’s box. In 1,073 plate appearances, he has 25 home runs but a .225 batting average and a 5.2% walk rate. Overall, his .225/.277/.344 line translates to a 70 wRC+. Jansen, on the other hand, has 11 home runs this season alone and is drawing walks at a 12.7% pace. His .204/.314/.389 line in 2025 translates to a 99 wRC+.
Behind the plate, Fortes grades out well. He’s been credited with 17 Defensive Runs Saved in his career. Outlets like FanGraphs, Statcast and Baseball Prospectus all consider him a strong framer. Jansen gets strong marks from BP but not the other two systems. In short, Fortes might be a downgrade from Jansen at the plate but might be a slight upgrade defensively.
It’s certainly a cost-saving switch. Jansen signed a one-year deal with the Rays which guarantees him $8.5MM. He’s making $8MM in terms of salary and then there’s a $500K buyout on a mutual option for 2026. Fortes just qualified for artbitation for the first time after the 2024 season, as a Super Two player. He is making $1.86MM this year and is lined up for three further raises via arb.
For the Marlins, they don’t really need Fortes. They already have Agustín Ramírez and Liam Hicks on the big league roster. It’s possible that Ramírez might not have the defensive chops to stick behind the plate, but the Fish also have Joe Mack lurking. Mack has shown up on some top 100 prospect lists and is already at the Triple-A level. Perhaps he will get a big league look in the wake of this Fortes deal. Or if not now, maybe he could be a September call-up.
They Marlins have exchanged a light-hitting placeholder catcher for an outfield prospect. Etzel is a deadline pickup for the second year in a row. He went from the Orioles to the Rays last summer as part of the Zach Eflin deal.
A tenth-round pick of the O’s in 2023, he’s not ranked as one of Tampa’s top 30 prospects by either Baseball America or FanGraphs. MLB Pipeline has him in the #28 slot. Broadly speaking, he seems to be a contact-based hitter with speed. Since the start of 2024, he has 723 plate appearances, mostly at the Double-A level. He has just 16 home runs but a 12.2% walk rate, .259/.350/.404 line and 119 wRC+ in that time. He’s also stolen 62 bases, though while also getting caught 19 times.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that the Rays were working on a Fortes trade. Robert Murray of FanSided reported Etzel’s inclusion. Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times confirmed the Fortes trade agreement was in place.
Photos courtesy of Katie Stratman and Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Cubs Interested In Raisel Iglesias, MacKenzie Gore
The Cubs are known to be looking far and wide for pitching upgrades at the deadline, with both long-term and short-term arms on the team’s radar. Two more names can be added to Chicago’s pitching search, as The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney writes that Braves closer Raisel Iglesias “is one of several options under consideration” for bullpen help, and the Cubs are also “very interested in” the possibility of trading for Nationals southpaw MacKenzie Gore.
Iglesias is the much more clear-cut trade candidate of the two, as Iglesias is a free agent at season’s end and the struggling Braves are nowhere near the playoff race. While Iglesias has a 5.09 ERA over 40 2/3 innings, his 3.00 SIERA is over two runs lower, and his strikeout/walk/hard-hit ball rates range from strongly above-average to elite. The veteran righty’s ERA reflects Iglesias’ tendency to get hit particularly hard when he does get hit, as 10 of his 23 earned runs allowed this season were contained within just three outings (April 21 against the Giants, June 5 against the Diamondbacks, and July 19 against the Yankees).
It is clear that Iglesias still has plenty left in the tank at age 35, and could be a big help to a team in need of high-leverage relievers. The bullpen isn’t quite as glaring a need as it seemed for the Cubs earlier in the season, yet the relief corps has been shaky over the last month, and adding Iglesias to the mix is an obvious improvement. Daniel Palencia has been a revelation as the Cubs’ closer, but given his lack of a proven track record, Chicago could prefer to have an established closer like Iglesias on hand.
Gore seems like a much more speculative pitcher on the wishlist. Nationals interim GM Mike DeBartolo recently said that his team was planning to retain its young core at the deadline, and made of point of including Gore in that cornerstone group, saying it is “not a focus of mine to move him.” There is seemingly no rush for DeBartolo or the organization to consider trading a pitcher who is arbitration-controlled through the 2027 season, and Mooney notes that an interim general manager like DeBartolo might not get the green light from ownership to pull the trigger on “a monumental decision” like moving a pitcher who has emerged as the ace of Washington’s rotation.
Even if the door may not be completely closed on the possibility of Gore being traded, the Nats’ asking price is unsurprisingly “viewed as sky-high,” Mooney writes. For two-plus years of a frontline starter, it is easy to picture Washington demanding multiple high-level prospects and at least one young player who is close to MLB-ready. As hefty as this ask might be, the Cubs are perhaps one of the few teams that has enough blue-chip minor league depth to make the Nationals at least consider dealing the 26-year-old All-Star.
Owen Caissie, for instance, is the type of elite prospect that would surely be a priority for the Nats in any Gore trade package. The outfielder is crushing Triple-A pitching for the second consecutive season and seems to have little left to prove in the minors, except Chicago’s outfield (and overall lineup) is deep enough that there’s no current place for Caissie to break into the Show. That could change quickly if Kyle Tucker departs in free agency this winter, higlighting Caissie’s importance as a long-term asset in Wrigleyville.
Mooney writes that the Cubs are very likely not going to offer Caissie in a trade for a rental player, and would only be inspired to move him at all if a controllable talent (like Gore) is on the table. In a particularly interesting detail, Mooney reports that Caissie would have been part of a proposed trade between the Cubs and Marlins for Jesus Luzardo this past offseason that was eventually scuttled when Chicago had concerns over Luzardo’s medicals. This provides some context for what it would take for the Cubs to move Caissie, yet his big Triple-A numbers in 2025 have probably made the team even more loath to part with the outfielder.
Mets Have Shown Interest In Sandy Alcantara
The Mets are among the teams that have shown interest in Sandy Alcantara, reports Mike Puma of The New York Post. They’d seemingly remain one of the longer shots to land the former Cy Young winner. Intra-division trades of controllable players aren’t easy to make, and the Mets have reportedly been more focused on bullpen upgrades than the rotation.
New York already made the first of what’ll likely be multiple bullpen pickups this afternoon. They sent a pair of pitching prospects to the Orioles for hard-throwing southpaw Gregory Soto. They’re at least exploring the starting pitching and center field markets in addition to their reliever pursuits.
Alcantara has a 6.66 earned run average across 20 starts. His career-low 16.7% strikeout rate is well below average. Alcantara has gotten far fewer chases and swinging strikes this year than in any prior season. For all those alarming trends, he’ll intrigue teams as a change-of-scenery candidate. Alcantara’s 97.6 MPH average fastball velocity is back to where it was before he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023. He is signed with Miami for $17MM this year and next and is guaranteed a $2MM buyout on a $21MM club option for 2027.
President of baseball operations David Stearns suggested this week that the Mets would be comfortable with a potential playoff rotation comprising some combination of Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, David Peterson, Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas. Holmes is already at a career-high workload in his first full MLB season as a starter. He has struggled in July after a strong first three months. Senga, Manaea, and Montas have all had injury issues this year. The Mets could also get Tylor Megill back next month, yet he’s a question mark as he rehabs an elbow sprain.
Stearns also indicated the Mets could be content with the combination of Jeff McNeil and Tyrone Taylor in center field. Still, they’re on the periphery of that market. The Post’s Jon Heyman suggests they’re showing continued interest in long-rumored target Luis Robert Jr. Earlier this week, SNY’s Andy Martino called Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins a “consideration.”
Mullins is an impending free agent who’ll definitely be moved, but he hasn’t hit since April. Robert, whose contract contains consecutive $20MM team options for 2026-27, had an awful first few months offensively but has picked things up over the past couple weeks. Robert hits left-handed pitching well, plays plus defense, and steals bases, so he’s the more desirable trade candidate of that duo.
Padres Among Teams Interested In Sandy Alcantara
As the Padres gear up for a deadline that seems like it’ll see them operate on both the buying and selling side of the market, they’ve reached out to the Marlins to inquire about right-hander Sandy Alcantara, reports Dennis Lin of The Athletic.
San Diego’s interest in Alcantara comes less than 24 hours after it was reported that they’ve been willing to discuss fellow righty Dylan Cease with other clubs. Lin adds that he’s heard similarly. Both right-handers have underperformed this season but feature strong track records and power arsenals. Shipping out an underperforming former Cy Young finalist to bring in an underperforming former Cy Young winner might seem like shuffling the deck chairs, but there’s typically a method to president of baseball operations A.J. Preller’s deadline madness.
Cease is earning $13.75MM in his final season of club control before reaching free agency. Alcantara is earning $17MM this season and is signed for the same amount in 2026, with a $21MM club option for the 2027 season. If the Padres were to trade Cease and acquire Alcantara, they would essentially be swapping out — not directly for one another, of course — two pitchers of comparable upside but coming away with the one who provides rotation stability beyond the current season.
As ever, there are roadblocks to be considered. The Padres’ baseball operations staff isn’t believed to have much financial flexibility at its disposal presently. That was a key driver in their frugal slate of offseason signings (e.g. Jason Heyward, Connor Joe, Elias Diaz, Martin Maldonado, Jose Iglesias), and it’s also a factor in why they’re listening to offers on Cease in the first place.
Even if they were to trade Cease and the entirety of his remaining salary, turning and adding Alcantara would add about $1.153MM onto the current payroll — and do so at a time when the Padres are also looking for help in left field and behind the plate. That said, the Marlins were willing to pay down virtually all of Luis Arraez‘s salary when they lined up with the Padres on a May 2024 trade. Doing so allowed Miami to ask for more talent in exchange and allowed the Padres to get the player they coveted even in the face of payroll constraints from ownership. They could try a similar path here.
That brings up a potentially even more prominent roadblock: a thin farm system. San Diego’s prospect cache has been repeatedly leveraged to acquire veteran players over the years and left the team with a top-heavy system. Shortstop Leo De Vries and catcher Ethan Salas are considered among the sport’s very best young talents. The Padres are ostensibly loath to part with either, and the rest of the system is less compelling.
Trading Cease could help in that regard. Even with the right-hander falling shy of his prior standards this season, he’s still averaging better than 97 mph on his heater and missing bats at an elite level. He’d surely command a notable return. It’s possible Cease could be swapped out for big league help at another position of need (e.g. the previously referenced left field or catcher), but a contending club would likely be reluctant to give the Padres a big league outfielder or catcher in exchange for a rental arm. A trade for prospects would be more straightforward, and because the Padres are a luxury tax payor, there’s incentive to move him rather than make a qualifying offer. Their CBT status would drop the compensation for Cease from a pick after the first round to a pick after the fourth.
Speculatively speaking, the Padres can look to find a trade partner for Cease while in the same breath using some of that return to help pry Alcantara loose from Miami. They could potentially even structure it as a three-team trade, though that’s not necessary. They went through a similar sequence in the 2023-24 offseason when trading Juan Soto to the Yankees for a prospect package headlined by right-hander Drew Thorpe, only to turn and trade Thorpe to the White Sox a couple months later as part of the package to acquire Cease.
Adding Alcantara would be of extra importance to the Padres because of that remaining club control. Both Cease and Michael King are free agents at season’s end. Next year’s rotation outlook currently includes Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish (in his age-39 season), Joe Musgrove (in his return from Tommy John surgery) and some combination of Randy Vasquez, Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert. Pivetta can opt out of his contract after the 2026 season.
Whether some form of Cease/Alcantara shell game comes to fruition or not, the mere fact that the Padres are looking into the possibility serves as a prominent reminder of the type of frenetic dealing that has become a hallmark of the Preller-led Padres this time of year. With several holes on the roster, a tight payroll and a farm system that could work against them, the stage appears to be set for another July of creative dealing from the Padres.
Marlins Sign First-Round Pick Aiva Arquette
The Marlins officially announced that first-round pick Aiva Arquette has signed a pro contract. Craig Mish reported yesterday that an agreement had been reached between the club and the seventh overall pick. Arquette signed for a $7,149,900 bonus, as per MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis, which exactly matches the slot price attached to the seventh overall pick.
The Oregon State shortstop was a consensus top-10 prospect, with Fangraphs and The Athletic’s Keith Law each highest on Arquette as the fourth-highest player on their boards. Baseball America ranked Arquette fifth in the 2025 draft class, MLB Pipeline had him sixth, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel was the relative lowest in putting Arquette ninth.
Despite this high profile and ceiling, evaluators acknowledge some risk in Arquette. While he is seen as a solid fielder, his size (6’5″, 220 pounds) lead some scouts to believe he’ll inevitably have to move over to third base in the future. Law also raised some issue about the quality of competition Arquette faced in college ball this season, and wondered if his hitting approach can hold up as he rises the ranks in pro ball. Despite these questions, Arquette is seen as a very solid bat with plus power and very good contact skills. A move to third base might not be a problem since Arquette could very well profile as a plus fielder at the hot corner, and he has a strong throwing arm. Overall, Arquette was generally viewed as the best position player available from the college ranks.
This ties into a somewhat unique draft for Miami, as the team took college players with all 21 of its picks. When talking with the Miami Herald’s Steve Gorten and other reporters, Marlins scouting director Frankie Piliere described this collegiate trend as “the coincidences of a draft board” rather than a specific tactic from the organization. Still, it does perhaps set the Marlins up to get some help from the 2025 draft class sooner rather than later at the big league level.
Connor Norby Undergoes Surgery To Repair Hamate Fracture
Marlins infielder Connor Norby underwent surgery to repair a fractured hamate bone in his left hand yesterday, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald. He’s expected to be sidelined for the next six to eight weeks.
Norby, 25, came to the Marlins alongside Kyle Stowers just under one year ago in the 2024 deadline trade sending lefty Trevor Rogers to Baltimore. He was placed on the 10-day IL a few days ago due to inflammation in his left wrist. The specific nature of Norby’s injury wasn’t clear at the time, but he’d been out of the lineup for the final two games prior to the All-Star break after experiencing discomfort in his hand/wrist at the plate last Friday.
A 2021 second-round pick and former top prospect, Norby had a solid debut for the Marlins following the trade last summer. He hit .247/.315/.445 with seven homers and three steals in 162 plate appearances down the stretch — albeit with a 32.1% strikeout rate. He’s pared back on the strikeouts a bit this year (26.7%) but had a tough season overall, slashing .241/.289/.364 in 273 trips to the plate. It’s not entirely clear how long Norby was playing through discomfort prior to his IL stint and subsequent surgery, but over his past 47 plate appearances he’s turned in an anemic .186/.234/.326 batting line, dragging his season-long numbers down quite a bit in the process.
Norby opened the 2025 season on the injured list due to an oblique strain but has been Miami’s primary third baseman when healthy. He’s played 68 games and logged 567 innings at the position, albeit with sub-par defensive grades (-7 Defensive Runs Saved, -3 Outs Above Average). He’s also capable of playing second base, but the Fish have been using Xavier Edwards there after installing Otto Lopez as their everyday shortstop.
With Norby out for the foreseeable future, their options at third base include Graham Pauley, Javier Sanoja and Eric Wagaman, though the latter of that trio has been playing first base regularly as of late. Sanoja and Pauley drew starts in Miami’s final two games before the break.
The Fish also have infielders Jack Winkler, Maximo Acosta and Deyvison De Los Santos on the 40-man roster with their Triple-A Jacksonville affiliate. Winkler is a utility player with good speed who made his MLB debut briefly earlier in the season. Acosta has been strictly a middle infielder. De Los Santos has played both corners but spent the vast majority of his recent time at first base. None of the three are hitting well in Jacksonville, however.
Pauley, also a 2024 deadline acquisition (part of the Tanner Scott return), hasn’t produced in 94 big league plate appearances this year but has considerably outperformed Winkler, De Los Santos and Acosta in Triple-A. He’s taken 144 plate appearances with Jacksonville and slashed .260/.340/.496 with a 9.7% walk rate and a tiny 11.1% strikeout rate.
Latest On Marlins’ Deadline Plans
The Marlins remain one of the clearest cut sellers as the deadline approaches. While Miami has somewhat quietly played well since the beginning of June, they remain in the middle of a multi-year rebuild. They’re still seven games under .500 and have almost no shot of making the playoffs this year.
It therefore comes as no surprise that Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes that the Fish plan to entertain offers on Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera, Jesús Sánchez and Anthony Bender in the coming weeks. All four players appeared among MLBTR’s list of the top 40 trade candidates earlier this month; Alcantara was in the top spot. Jackson adds that the Marlins are shopping impending free agent starter Cal Quantrill, though he’d have less trade value than the rest of the group.
Perhaps more interestingly, Jackson writes that the Marlins would be satisfied running it back with their current middle infield tandem of Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards next season. That’s not to say either player is untouchable, but they’re less likely to move than any of the four Miami players who made our trade candidates writeup. The 26-year-old Lopez is hitting .250/.320/.392 while taking over at shortstop. Edwards, who moved to second base, owns a .288/.352/.347 slash with 16 stolen bases. Both players are controllable for another four seasons.
[Related: Miami Marlins Trade Deadline Outlook]
Alcantara’s availability has been expected for months. He’s making $17MM this year and next, and he’s guaranteed a $2MM buyout on a $21MM club option for 2027. That’d be a bargain rate if he recaptured his ace form, but he has had a poor first season back from Tommy John surgery. Alcantara carries a 7.22 ERA with a diminished 17.3% strikeout rate over 18 starts. He had his best month in June (4.34 ERA) but has given up 11 runs in as many innings over his past two appearances. There’s little reason for the Marlins not to listen to offers, but it’s not a given that they actually pull the trigger on what would be a sell-low trade.
Moving Cabrera this summer would arguably be selling high. The 27-year-old former top prospect has posted a 2.54 ERA while striking out more than a quarter of his opponents in his past 12 starts. He’s making less than $2MM and under arbitration control for another three seasons. Miami would demand a significant return for their top realistic trade chip.
Jackson notes that the Marlins are nevertheless willing to consider offers in part because of Cabrera’s injury history. Shoulder problems sidelined him in both 2023 and ’24. He has yet to reach 100 innings in an MLB season. Cabrera departed his final appearance before the All-Star Break with elbow fatigue. While that’s not considered a serious issue — an MRI has already come back clean and he avoided the injured list — it’s the latest reminder of the injury risk for any pitcher, especially one with a mid-upper 90s fastball.
Sánchez and Bender are each controllable role players who should draw interest. Sánchez is a lefty-hitting corner outfielder who has been a league average regular over the course of his career. This season’s .259/.321/.410 slash line is par for the course. He’s making $4.5MM this year and will go through arbitration twice more.
Bender is a 30-year-old righty reliever who also has two and a half seasons of club control. He owns a 2.06 ERA in 39 1/3 innings, though that obscures unimpressive strikeout (18.9%) and walk (10.7%) numbers. Bender gets a lot of ground-balls and has gotten fantastic results on the mid-80s breaking ball that he uses as his primary pitch. He’s playing on a $1.42MM salary that’ll make him a viable fit for any contender.
As for Quantrill, the Marlins signed him with hopes of flipping him midseason. He’s making $3.5MM on a one-year free agent deal. Quantrill has below-average numbers for a third consecutive season, though. He carries a 5.62 ERA with a 19% strikeout rate over 81 2/3 innings. He’d profile as a sixth/seventh starter or long reliever on most contenders. There’d be minimal interest, but Quantrill is affordable enough that perhaps a team navigating multiple rotation injuries will take a flier. If they can’t find a trade partner this month, Miami could place him on waivers at some point in August in hopes of shedding the final few weeks of his salary.