COULD SANDY ALCANTARA TO THE BRONX BE A REALITY?

Look, credit where credit's due—the Yankees have been making some solid moves lately. They’re not a total mess. The vibes are trending in the right direction, and when you’ve got someone like Max Fried leading your rotation, life gets a whole lot easier. Fried takes the mound and, more often than not, the Yankees walk away with a W. That’s what an ace does—he gives you a real shot every five days. But hey, you know what would make things even better?

More pitching.

Yep, I said it. Starting pitching is baseball’s version of real estate: location, location, location… and a little depth wouldn't hurt either. Which is why the latest buzz around Sandy Alcántara is worth turning up the volume on.

FanSided’s Zach Pressnell tossed out the idea this week that the Yankees should make a serious run at Alcántara before the trade deadline. And frankly? He might be on to something.

“New York needs to go out and get a starter before the trade deadline and it seems like it's only a matter of time before the front office gains a sense of urgency and pulls off a deal," wrote Pressnell. “The first name at the top of their wish list should be the aforementioned Alcántara.”

He’s not wrong. Alcántara may not be a sure thing right now, but his ceiling is skyscraper-high. Remember, he inked a five-year, $56 million deal in 2022 and immediately turned around and won the NL Cy Young that same year. The man was untouchable.

Now yes, 2023 was a disaster for him. Tommy John wiped out his season, and 2024 didn’t exactly start off hot either. He’s currently sporting a rough 6.69 ERA—but let’s pump the brakes before we panic. Since June started? He’s rocking a 2.74 ERA. He’s stopped giving up crooked numbers, consistently getting into the sixth, and slowly looking like the Sandy we remember.

So, let’s dream for a second. Picture this rotation in September: Max Fried, Luis Gil, Sandy Alcántara, Ryan Yarbrough, Clarke Schmidt.

That’s not just depth—that’s October fuel.

And let’s not forget, we at Bleeding Yankee Blue were already on the Alcántara train. Back on March 7, we wrote about the bold call:

“If the Yankees are serious about making a deep October run, they need someone who can dominate in the playoffs and take the pressure off Cole.”

It was ESPN’s Eric Karabell that predicted this conversation here—Sandy pitching a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game and then slipping into pinstripes 10 days later. Far-fetched? Maybe. But we’ve seen stranger things. Remember David Cone’s arrival? 

Bottom line: the Yankees are trending up, but if they really want to go from good to great, the next move is obvious. Go get Sandy. Add one more horse to the stable, and this October might look a whole lot more promising.

Stay tuned—Brian Cashman’s phone better be fully charged.