The Atlanta Braves began the season abysmally but turned it around at the beginning of May, and are right back in contention to return to October. Entering Friday, the Braves’ rotation ranked 22nd in the league in starting pitching ERA, and could use the reinforcements down the stretch.

Sandy Alcantara pitches at loanDepot Park
MIAMI, FLORIDA – MAY 05: Sandy Alcantara #22 of the Miami Marlins pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning at loanDepot park on May 05, 2025 in Miami, Florida.

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Fansided’s Nick Halden created a proposal that would bring reinforcements to Atlanta in a trade with the division rival Miami Marlins for ace Sandy Alcántara. The Braves would benefit from the bonus of snatching a pitcher of Alcántara’s prestige away from a division rival.

Although Alcántara has been struggling in the early months of this season, he is returning from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in 2023, which took all of last season to recover from. Alcántara entered Friday with an 8.42 ERA over seven starts and 23 strikeouts over 31 innings pitched. That’s much different from his Cy Young-winning 2022, when he posted a 2.28 ERA over 228 2/3 innings, racking up 207 strikeouts.

Alcántara is still the ace of the Miami staff and is looking to turn his season around, and putting a playoff-caliber team like Atlanta around him would certainly do the trick for the 29-year-old. After letting Max Fried walk in the offseason and persistent injuries to Spencer Strider, the Braves are looking to find someone to take the lead on the pitching staff.

Under Halden’s hypothetical, the Braves would be sending a pair of prospects and a struggling Jarred Kelenic to the Marlins in return for Alcántara. The pair of prospects are no slouches either: former first-round pick and current No. 6 ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline right-hander Owen Murphy, and the Braves’ No. 4 prospect infielder Nacho Alvarez Jr. That pair alone would be grand enough to net a solid return, and the addition of a former high-ranked prospect in Kelenic eases the Marlins’ worries about trading inside the division.

Both teams would benefit from this trade, the Braves landing one of the game’s best pitchers, although he is struggling, and the Marlins would grab pieces for the future they are building toward.

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