The Marlins were looking to land George Lombard Jr. or Spencer Jones from the Yankees in a Sandy Alcantara trade, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Yankees naturally balked at moving either of their top prospects, and this gives the kind of idea of the big-ticket return Miami was trying to land for either Alcantara or Edward Cabrera. “No one came especially close” to prying Alcantara away from the Fish, which reflects both the big asking price and the inconsistent numbers the righty has posted (6.36 ERA over 109 innings) in his first season back after rehab from Tommy John surgery.
Other than trading Jesus Sanchez to the Astros and moving depth catcher Nick Fortes to the Rays, it was a quieter deadline than expected from the Marlins, who looked like clear-cut sellers a couple of months ago. However, the team’s plans may have been changed by an unexpected development — winning. A three-game sweep of the Yankees in Miami this weekend brought the Marlins’ record back to 55-55, as the Fish have won 25 of their last 35 games. It is a great sign of progress for the team’s rebuild at the very least, and even a longshot wild card race can’t be ruled out given how well the Marlins have been playing.
Some more from the last few days of NL East news…
- Rafael Montero was the only veteran Atlanta moved at the deadline, as if anything, the Braves focused a lot of attention on adding short-term pitching help to its injury-riddled staff. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos told reporters (including the Athletic’s David O’Brien) on Thursday that since his team plans to contend again in 2026, the Braves put a high ask on any player that was controlled beyond the 2025 season. As for impending free agents like Raisel Iglesias and Marcell Ozuna, Anthopoulos said “we weren’t just going to give players away, move guys just to move them or just to dump salary….If we were going to move any player, we were going to have to get something back that we liked.” The executive added that the team didn’t approach Ozuna for his approval about any potential trades, as Ozuna has veto rights as a 10-and-5 player.
- The Mets freed up some 40-man roster space for their deadline additions on Thursday by moving Jesse Winker to the 60-day injured list, which ensures that Winker will be now be out of action until at least September 9. There is concern that Winker’s entire season could be in jeopardy, as president of baseball ops David Stearns told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and other reporters that Winker’s back is “frankly not [recovering] at the pace that I think he or we were hoping.” Winker rejoined the Mets on a one-year, $7.5MM free agent deal last winter but he has been limited to 26 games due to an oblique strain and now this back problem, as both injuries landed the veteran on the 60-day IL.
- Sticking with the Mets, the Athletic’s Will Sammon reports that Max Kranick underwent a flexor tendon repair surgery last month, not a Tommy John surgery as was the initial expectation. A TJ procedure would’ve very likely cost Kranick the entire 2026 season, but there is now some improved chance the right-hander might be back on a big league mound before Opening Day 2027. Kranick already underwent a Tommy John surgery in June 2022 that cost him the entire 2023 campaign, and his 2024 work was limited to 70 2/3 innings in the Mets’ farm system. Returning to the bigs this season, Kranick had a 3.65 ERA over 37 innings with New York before arm problems have again put his career on hold.