Sandy Alcantara, the Miami Marlins' ace pitcher, expressed relief and confidence after staying with the team amid trade rumors. Reporting for Spring Training in Jupiter, Florida, on Wednesday, he looks forward to his sixth Opening Day start. The 2022 National League Cy Young winner aims to build on his late-2025 resurgence following Tommy John surgery.
Sandy Alcantara will join the Miami Marlins' pitchers and catchers for Spring Training on Wednesday in Jupiter, Florida. The team traded right-hander Edward Cabrera and left-hander Ryan Weathers during the offseason but retained Alcantara, their longest-tenured player and staff ace. This allows him to make his franchise-leading sixth Opening Day start in his eighth big league season with Miami.
Speaking on Friday during media day at loanDepot park, Alcantara voiced his happiness about remaining with the Marlins. “Always, always glad,” he said. “I'm happy to stay in Miami. I know there were a lot of things in the media, but at the end of the day, I can't control those decisions. Just the thing that I can control is just be out there and play baseball for Miami.”
He confirmed that neither president of baseball operations Peter Bendix nor principal owner Bruce Sherman contacted him over the offseason. “At the end of the day, I'm here,” Alcantara added. “I'm still here, I love this city, and I want to keep playing here.”
Alcantara missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. In 2025, he struggled early with a 5.36 ERA, the second highest among qualifying Major League starters, but improved markedly in his final eight starts with a 2.68 ERA. The 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner reflected on the mental challenges of his return. “Coming back from TJ, you're not going to do great since the first day,” he said. “You’ve got to be step by step. Mentally, I was thinking too much, people talking negative about myself. They don't know that I was the best pitcher in 2022, but yeah, that's the past. I know it, and I’ve just got to be able to be healthy this year, showing the people in Spring Training that I can do great and just got to keep believing, and those opportunities that this organization can give to me.”
For 2026, Alcantara's goals are straightforward: stay healthy, finish strong, pitch deep into games, and secure many wins. He enters the season with renewed confidence. “A lot of confidence,” he said. “I think more confident than last year, but I always still believe in myself... I’ve got to feel blessed every day to step out of my bed, open my eyes and come here and play baseball.”
