As the trade deadline nears, those close to Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara are making it known he is bracing for himself to be traded in the next week.

If this were 2021 or 2022 and the Cubs were in the place they are now, of course Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcántara would be one of their top pitching targets. But it’s not. It’s 2025, Alcántara missed an entire season after Tommy John surgery and his results since his return this year have been... well, let’s be charitable and say “uneven.”