Astros' rotation has clear answer on trade market, but he comes with 1 major problem

The Houston Astros have to figure out their starting rotation plans and soon. Framber Valdez is in his walk year and is not pitching all that well right now and Houston's depth after Ronel Blanco and Hunter Brown is speculative at best. Given their problems, one name on the trade market that could go a long way towards stabilizing their rotation is the Marlins' Sandy Alcantara.

In fairness, the 2022 NL Cy Young winner has been listed as a trade target for any team in need of pitching this year. Alcantara is widely expected to be traded at the deadline this year as Miami once again finds themselves with a bad roster and in need of saving some money. However, there has been some specific rumblings related to the Astros and it is hard to ignore the fit for them at least in theory.

Adding Alcantara would give Houston a starter that is a known innings-eater and with tremendous upside through at least the 2026 season. The problem is in how much Alcantara is expected to cost in trade and if Houston can even afford him.

Sandy Alcantara would be a great fit for the Astros, but trading for him may not be in the cards

Alcantara is certainly not pitching well right now and that is ramping up discussions about his trade market as everyone wants to try and buy low on the guy. He currently holds a 6.56 ERA and looks very rusty coming off a long layoff and rehab from Tommy John surgery. Again, not a guy that looks very exciting at first glance.

However, in terms of trade value, Alcantara's first few starts back from injury just don't matter all that much. His 4.79 FIP implies Alcantara has pitched better than his results and Miami isn't going to sell off Alcantara for pennies on the dollar given that he was one of the best pitchers in baseball before he got hurt. What matters is how much team control he comes with and that is where Houston's problems with this trade are.

We already saw that the Astros had to overpay to trade for Yusei Kikuchi last year and that was only for half a season of the guy. Miami is going to be looking for multiple top prospects at the trade deadline this year for 2.5 years or Alcantara assuming his option gets picked up. With a farm system that is looking pretty shallow especially with top prospects Brice Matthews and Jacob Melton off to slow starts, there is little reason to believe Houston can (or even should) get in a bidding war with motivated contenders for Alcantara this year.

At this point, one just has to hope that Lance McCullers Jr. comes back soon and pitches well right off the rip. If that happens, Houston can target guys on expiring contracts or who won't command as much of a return. It would be great to add Alcantara assuming he gets back on track, but the devil is in the details and they don't favor the Astros here.

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