The Chicago Cubs lead the National League Central despite having lost ace starting pitcher Justin Steele to season-ending elbow surgery in April.

Without Steele for most of 2025, Cubs starting pitchers have posted a 4.30 ERA this season, which is ranked 23rd in the MLB. Part of why has been more recent starting rotation injuries to Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad.

Could acquiring Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara be the solution to the Cubs pitching problems? ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan appeared to believe so last week.

The ESPN duo named eight different teams “best fits” for Alcantara but placed the Cubs at the top of the list.

“Alcantara was arguably the best pitcher in baseball in 2022, winning the NL Cy Young unanimously. He was more solid than spectacular in 2023 and missed 2024 with Tommy John surgery,” McDaniel and Passan wrote. “He has been tinkering this season to try to get his pitch mix and locations right in hopes of regaining his former glory. It is starting to look as though he is turning the corner to become a midrotation starter (or better?) once again as he has posted a 2.74 ERA in four June outings.”

McDaniel and Passan mentioned that the Marlins could wait until the offseason to trade the right-hander because there could be potentially more Alcantara suitors such as the Baltimore Orioles, over the winter. But despite that possibility, the ESPN writers still gave an Alcantara trade a 60% chance of happening.

Let’s explore the possibility of Alcantara landing with the Cubs.

Miami Marlins receive No. 1 Cubs prospect and outfielder Owen Caissie, No. 6 Cubs prospect and right-handed pitcher Brandon Birdsell, and No. 8 Cubs prospect and right-handed pitcher Jaxon Wiggins.

Chicago Cubs receive right-hander Sandy Alcantara

Whether it’s one outfield prospect and two pitching prospects, vice versa, prospects closer to MLB debuts or more younger prospects, it’s going to take a lot to acquire Alcantara from the Marlins.

He’s the biggest name potentially on the move this summer — a Cy Young winner in his prime with two more controllable years on his contract.

“Aces don’t become available often, particularly those with two years of club control,” an AL executive said, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. “If Alcantara continues to throw the way he has lately, the Marlins should be able to get a big return for him.”

Alcantara trade rumors in 2025 arguably started before the regular season began. At that point, one could argue that Alcantara wasn’t worth a bunch of highly rated prospects. After winning the Cy Young in 2022, Alcantara didn’t pitch well in 2023 and then missed all of 2024 because of injury.

His trade stock dropped the first two months of the 2025 season, as he posted an 8.47 ERA in his first 11 starts.

Alcantara experienced another bad outing Saturday, giving up seven runs on 10 hits in six innings. But in his first four starts of June, the right-hander posted a 2.74 ERA.

If he looks like that heading into the deadline, there’s no reason to think the Marlins will trade him away for less than a proposal that includes multiple high-end prospects.

The Cubs could use an ace starting pitcher. Chicago has a young team, which makes them a fit for Alcantara because the right-hander is under contract through 2027.

If there’s any doubts about the expensive trade compensation it will take to acquire Alcantara, that can be put to rest with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reporting Wednesday that the Los Angeles Dodgers “want” Alcantara.

That could deter the Cubs from trying to trade for him. Or, it could force Chicago to pay even more for the right-hander to ensure the Dodgers don’t land yet another pitching weapon.

For fantasy managers, Alcantara should continue to hold largely the same value whether he is traded or not. With a contender such as the Cubs, though, the right-hander would be in line to win more games than with Miami.

Depending on which way the wind is blowing at Wrigley Field, Alcantara could also benefit pitching at home in Chicago versus at the dome stadium in Miami.