Cubs Trade Idea Lands Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Chicago Cubs’ intentions to bolster their starting rotation have been well-known throughout the 2025 campaign. The team lost Justin Steele to a season-ending elbow injury in early April and has seen both Shota Imanaga (who has since returned to the mound) and Matthew Boyd miss significant time.
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The organization’s front office has also been connected to a number of the top pitchers on the trading block, including Miami Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara. ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel consider Alcantara to not only be the top available pitcher on the market, but also a good fit for the North Siders. Passan and McDaniel also placed the likelihood of Alcantara’s departure at 60%, given that the Marlins, with a 36-45 record, are slipping out of the National League playoff race.
But what if the Cubs could bolster their roster with the acquisition of two starting pitchers in the same deal involving the Marlins? That’s what Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller proposed in a trade that would send both Alcantara and fellow right-hander Edward Cabrera to the Cubs.
“Of the six Cubs who have made at least five starts this season, only Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd have a positive bWAR. And even at that, Imanaga has an xFIP (4.82) nearly double his ERA (2.54) suggesting near-imminent regression, while Boyd has already pitched more innings than in any other season since 2019, so, you know, fingers crossed for another four months of good health,” Miller wrote. “And while we certainly wouldn’t call this a ‘World Series or Bust’ season, after all they gave the [Houston] Astros this winter for what might be just one season of both Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly, they certainly entered the season with an urgency to win now.”
Jed Hoyer, President of the Chicago Cubs, prepares to throw balls to fans before a game against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field. David Banks-Imagn Images
Miller believes the deal would require a near-king’s ransom, though, as the Cubs could have Alcantara signed through the 2027 season and potentially Cabrera through 2028. He included five minor-leaguers in the Marlins’ return package, all of whom are among the Cubs’ top 30 prospects, per MLB Pipeline: outfielder Kevin Alcantara (No. 3), infielder Jefferson Rojas (No. 4), pitcher Jaxon Wiggins (No. 8), pitcher Ryan Gallagher (No. 17) and infielder Yahil Melendez (No. 24).
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According to Miller, such a trade would not only help the Marlins make significant progress in their rebuild but also leave the team with some solid starting pitching options at the major-league level.
“The Marlins do already have five of MLB.com’s top 100 prospects, and would be adding two more top 75 prospects if they did this trade, plus adding three more lottery-ticket types who could be big leaguers in two or three years,” Miller wrote. “At that point, they become a bit interesting, as even after subtracting Alcantara and Cabrera, they’d still have a rotation of Eury Perez, Max Meyer, Braxton Garrett and Ryan Weathers, with hopefully Thomas White and/or Robby Snelling contributing by next season.”
Alcantara, a 2022 Cy Young Award winner and two-time All-Star, has recovered from a rough beginning to the season and put up strong individual performances in recent outings. Through 16 starts this season, he has pitched to a 4-8 record, 6.98 ERA, and 1.48 WHIP, in addition to striking out 63 batters in 80 innings.
Cabrera, meanwhile, has a 2-2 record, 3.78 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 69 strikeouts in 64.1 innings pitched across 13 starts this year.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 30, 2025, where it first appeared.