While there were trade rumors surrounding Miami Marlins star Sandy Alcantara, it appears he'll be the ace of the team heading into the new season as he was announced as the Opening Day starter according to Christina De Nicola. As the Marlins pitcher in Alcantara has recovered from a long Tommy John injury, the process has been going well apparently as he'll be ready to take the mound come the beginning of the season.

Alcantara missed the entire season in 2024 due to the aforementioned injury where new manager Clayton McCullough would say via The Miami Herald that the choice “was an easy one for us.”

“It wasn’t that tough,” McCullough said. “Sandy was an easy one for us. Very, very happy for him, for all the hard work he’s put in now get himself back in position for that.”

The 29-year-old looks to come back with vengeance after missing a season and a down 2023 where he wants to return to his 2022 form where he was an All-Star and even won the NL Cy Young award. One person who's excited to have Alcantara back healthy in Miami is the president of baseball operations Peter Bendix.

“It’s really frustrating for him to miss an entire year,” Bendix said. “It’s really frustrating for the whole team. We know how important he is to the team, and it’s just great to see him out there…For baseball, with Sandy, to have your better players — your star players — back out there is good for the game and certainly good for our fans.”

How Marlins' Sandy Alcantara is feeling after Tommy John recovery

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara (22) tosses a baseball during a spring training workout at the Miami Marlins player development & scouting complex.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Besides Alcantara, the Marlins boosted their pitching with Cal Quantril, though the Dominican Republic-born ace looks to not just have a dominant 2025, but a relatively healthy one.

“Everything feels great,” Alcantara said via The Miami Herald. “My arm is good. I can’t wait to be out there.”

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“It was the same as when I was a normal person,” Alcantara continued. “Nonstop working every day and trying to get better.”

Subsequently, there has no doubt been progress as per The Miami Herald, his fastball was hitting speeds of up to 99 miles per hour which is a great sign. Alcantara spoke of how it was to watch games from his home, unable to compete with his teammates.

“It was very bad, just being able to watch the games,” Alcantara said. “I wasn’t able to compete, and I felt so bad. But right now I just got, I think, positive. … I was waiting too long to be back, and now I’m here.”

The pitcher already has made an impression on the Marlins' new manager McCullough as he spoke highly of him per MLB Network Radio.

“I had a chance to see him at an outing about a week ago and he looked great, sounded great, felt like he was right on track at this point,” McCullough said. “Sandy's such a hard worker and such an important part and a leader of this pitching staff and this team. All signs point to things looking very positive for the start of the season.”