Gerrit Cole’s surprise injury will force the New York Yankees to rethink their rotation. After undergoing Tommy John surgery, the star pitcher will be out for the entire 2025 season. This procedure requires a recovery period of between 12 and 18 months, so his return is also not guaranteed for the start of 2026.
In light of this, the Yankees management must bolster its pitching staff and explore options in the trade market. One solid alternative is Dominican Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins. He is currently in the fourth season of his five-year contract and has a salary of $17.3 million for this campaign.
Alcantara, the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner, was sidelined for the entire 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery. However, his performance in Spring Training has shown remarkable recovery, making him an attractive option for the Yankees. Without Cole or Luis Gil, the current rotation includes Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, Marcus Stroman and Will Warren
Marlins won’t let go of Sandy Alcantara easily
Amid the rumors about Sandy Alcantara, the latest reports indicate that the Marlins would not be willing to negotiate him at this time, especially because he is coming off an injury that forced him to miss the 2024 season and his value could be lower. According to Buster Olney of Baseball Tonight the Miami franchise would look for the best deal and could wait until the trade deadline.
“The Marlins are going to want the best price, and the Yankees would have to compete against a lot of teams for Sandy at a time when their farm system is in decline. I think Kylie McDaniel has them ranked among the bottom 10,” Olney said, adding that the Yankees “are not in a good position to compete with other organizations, as they were at the trade deadline last year.”
According to a report from The Athletic, the Yankees would have to put their prospects Jasson Dominguez and George Lombard Jr. on the negotiating table for a trade, and if they do let Dominguez go, they could try to re-sign Alex Verdugo or look at more free agents, with Adam Duvall still available
In addition to Alcantara, other names that could be on the Yankees radar include Dylan Cease of the San Diego Padres, Luis Castillo of the Seattle Mariners, and Jordan Montgomery of the Arizona Diamondbacks
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