The 2025 Los Angeles Angels’ level of skill and whether they will be buyers or sellers at the July 31 trade deadline are still up in the air. It was easy to imagine the team as unexpected contenders when they started the season on a hot streak. Fire sales were anticipated when they crashed to ground. Despite their previous eight-game winning streak and following three-game losing streak, the tides are still turning.
Perhaps it makes more sense to have a sophisticated strategy rather than just focusing on whether the club should acquire or sell before the deadline. The Halos intend to play competitive baseball in 2025, which entails being there, giving it their best, and positioning themselves to win games—even if better players ultimately prevail.
Above all, they must focus on developing their youthful core and setting themselves up to become serious contenders as early as 2026.
The AL West appears to be more weaker and more open than it was in previous years, so it makes sense for the Angels to search for value, whether that means acquiring talent that can assist now and in the future or dealing a veteran for someone who can help more in the future.
Although he didn’t make an impression, a struggling veteran pitcher who won a Cy Young award not too long ago recently visited the Big A and may be the kind of risk the Angels could take at the deadline.
The Angels would be wise to buy low on Miami Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara
Sandy Alcantara was becoming one of the best young guns in the game not too long ago. He averaged 98.1 miles per hour on his fastball while pitching 205.2 innings in 2021 as a 25-year-old, with a 3.19 ERA.
Alcantara entered a new stratosphere in 2022. He won the Cy Young award after pitching an incredible 228.2 innings and bringing his ERA down to 2.28, almost a whole run. The Dominican-born righthander had a good, if not ace-like, 4.14 ERA in 2023 before he was sidelined by an elbow ailment, which was a glaring setback.
Alcantara lost his 2024 season due to Tommy John’s surgery for that elbow ailment, and his return to the mound in 2025 was one of the most eagerly awaited plotlines in the run-up to the season. The ace was the subject of trade speculations since the frugal Marlins are constantly trying to cut payroll. They ultimately dealt Jesus Luzardo, Alcantara’s old teammate, but chose to keep Alcantara in the hopes of receiving an even greater return before the deadline.
In a microcosm of his season, Alcantara started Friday, May 23, against the Angels, giving up five hits and five earned runs in 5.1 innings.
With an 8.04 ERA and an average of less than five innings per start, the 29-year-old former Cy Young winner is having a terrible time.
So why would the failing starter be desired by the Angels? The upward play is the main focus. Alcantara, who signed an extension in 2022, now earns $17.3 million, which is around four times the salary of Jesus Sanchez, Miami’s second highest paid player, who only gets $4.5 million. This amount represents about a quarter of Miami’s payroll of $67.9 million.
Alcantara’s belongings are still there in spite of his difficulties. His average fastball velocity of 97.6 miles per hour is still more than sufficient to get batters out, albeit being a little below his best. The outstanding starter has been kept back by command rather than material.
From his career average of 7.6%, Alcantara’s walk percentage has skyrocketed to 11.6% in 2025. In addition, his HR/9 of 1.53 in 2025 is much higher than his career average of 0.94, indicating that he is making more errors in the strike zone that lead to long balls.
After Tommy John surgery, command is frequently the last thing a pitcher regains, so it’s good to see that his velocity is mostly unaffected. He’ll probably become stronger as he recovers throughout the course of the season.
It is unlikely that contenders who had been interested in Alcantara throughout the summer will be interested in signing him in the hopes that he can improve in the final stretch. Alcantara, however, may be a worthwhile addition to a club like the Angels in 2025 and beyond.
Alcantara is no longer a trade need for the Marlins. His contract expires in 2026, and he has a 2027 club option for $21 million. It’s difficult to think the franchise will continue to record his compensation, though, given how frugal they are with money and the possibility that, should he fail to turn things around, his whole worth will be reduced to ashes.
Alcantara’s luxury tax number of $11.2 million makes him a far more affordable option for the Angels, who have long been without a pitcher with genuine ace talent.
The club may be patient with him and wait to see whether he improves in the latter months of 2025 if they were to buy him. In 2026, they may end up with a useful trade asset in case they lose the race, as well as a legitimate ace to anchor the rotation.
Given his success this season, the asking price for him wouldn’t be high, allowing the Angels to add a possible frontline starter without having to clear out an already empty farm system. Even if the Angels select his 2027 option, he will still be paid substantially below market value if he turns into the ace he once was.
Conversely, the Angels would have the chance to trade Alcantara for a haul at the 2026 deadline if he were to return to form but the rest of the squad was lacking.
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The Angels run the danger of having a struggling starter on an inflexible deal if Alcantara loses his mind. It seems like a gamble they should be prepared to take given the condition of the team’s farm system, their reluctance to spend $200 million on a free-agent ace, and their obvious need for a top-of-the-rotation arm.
