One of the best ways the Houston Astros could solve their problems with the starting rotation is by being aggressive in pursuing an elite pitcher on the free-agent market and, if possible, getting a second arm for the rotation who is less expensive on a short-term contract.

We have talked in recent days about the impact Freddy Peralta and Nick Martinez could have on Houston’s rotation, as they are pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. There will be several options to choose from, but if we are talking about a strong arm capable of providing durability and consistency, we also cannot forget Miami Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara.

The Dominican right-hander just turned 31 and led the league with 211 innings in 33 starts, recording a 3.2 fWAR, his best mark since accumulating 5.9 in 2022, the best season of his career. Alcantara finished with a 13-11 record and a 3.82 xERA, in addition to recording 21 quality starts—just four fewer than he combined for between 2024 and 2025—which shows that his arm has fully recovered. Another key point in favor of a possible deal is that Alcantara does not have a no-trade clause, and the Marlins could use him as a valuable piece to save money or get valuable players in return.

Why Could Alcantara Be a Very Good Option?

His strikeout rate fell to its lowest point in 2026, recording just 6.43 K/9, but that was not due to a concerning regression in his velocity or command problems. Alcantara simply changed his philosophy to try to go deeper into games and have better control of the game. His strikeouts went down, but his fastball finished in the league’s 96th percentile, while he ranked in the 83rd percentile in Barrel% and the 81st in BB%. In other words, Alcantara’s renewed approach has allowed him to keep maintaining control of his pitches, and the mix of his three types of fastballs is among the elite in the game.

His cutter finished in the 100th percentile, his sinker in the 97th, and his four-seam fastball in the 90th. His slider was his fourth-most consistent pitch and the second that generated the most swings and misses (25.9%) after the changeup (28.2%). But nothing was more lethal in two-strike counts than Alcantara’s combination of the fastball and cutter, which struck out 62 of the 172 batters they faced without allowing home runs.

If Hunter Brown can return healthy and Peter Lambert manages to repeat the performance that led him to make the big jump to the starting rotation in 2026, a pitcher like Alcantara would be perfect to take care of the second spot in the staff. Both Brown (107 ⅓ innings) and Lambert (155 ⅔) pitched more than 100 innings this season, but the Astros have not had a trio of starters capable of providing the durability of at least 180 innings since 2018, when Justin Verlander (214), Dallas Keuchel (204 ⅔) and Gerrit Cole (200 ⅓) combined to go 43-25 and throw 619 innings.