Red Sox Floated As Early Trade Deadline Suitors For Game-Changing $56 Million Ace

Could the Red Sox be the trade deadline's biggest aggressors?

Feb 13, 2025; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara (22) practices during spring training at the Miami Marlins player development & scouting complex. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

One of the exciting subplots entering the 2025 Major League Baseball season is that the Boston Red Sox no longer appear to be playing it safe.

It took a few seasons of uninspiring offseasons to get here, but the Red Sox have pushed their poker chips back to the center of the table in 2025. With marquee additions Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman in tow, this is a team with its sights firmly set on the playoffs.

That will make the month of July particularly interesting to track, assuming the Red Sox are in a decent position in the standings. Boston has had very underwhelming trade deadline hauls for the last three years, but they could be in a position this time around to pull off a true blockbuster,

One of the storylines of the spring so far for the Red Sox has been the volume of starting pitching injuries. Though the three injured starters all project to return at some point in April, health could be a concern for Boston all season long.

Help could be on the way at the deadline--in a major way. On Wednesday, CBS Sports' Mike Axisa named the Red Sox among the early favorites to trade for Miami Marlins ace and former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara before the deadline.

"The question is not if the Marlins will trade Alcantara, but when. The 2022 NL Cy Young winner missed last season with Tommy John surgery, but he's completed his rehab, and he's throwing gas this spring," Axisa wrote.

"The Marlins traded Luis Arraez last May. POBO Peter Bendix did not wait until the deadline. Don't be surprised if he does the same with Alcantara, especially with a major arm injury in his recent past. Early possible landing spots: Mets, Orioles, Red Sox."

Alcantara, 29, has thrown 12 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball in spring training, striking out 10 batters to only 12 baserunners allowed. In 2022, he led the league with a whopping six complete games and 228 2/3 innings pitched--a workhorse in an era where workhorses tend not to exist.

With two years remaining on his $56 million extension (valued at $17.1 million each) plus a $21.3 million club option for 2027, Alcantara's affordable deal means the Marlins can ask for a very high price.

The Red Sox will have to closely monitor Alcantara early in the season, and if they do decide their rotation still needs an upgrade, they'll have to put together a top-tier prospect package.

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