There were 36 trades made in the run-up to the Thursday’s 6 p.m. EDT trade deadline, but some of the news that came out of the busiest deadline day in history wasn’t the players who changed teams, it was the players who didn’t. Here are four players who were rumored to be changing teams at the deadline, only to stay put.
Sandy Alcantara, P, Miami Marlins – The New York Yankees, Houston Astros, and others had interest in the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner from Azua, Dominican Republic, but ultimately, Alcantara remained in Miami. He’s struggled mightily this year, posting a 6.36 ERA in 109 innings over 21 stats, but more telling is his ERA+ of 69. The MLB average is 100, meaning that his ERA adjusted for ballpark figures is well below average. Granted, he’s been recovering from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent during the fall of 2023, but his performance this year along with another year at $17.5 million remaining on his contract is likely what kept him in Miami.
Lars Nootbar, OF, St. Louis Cardinals – Nootbar, who played for Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, drew interest from the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros, but the Cardinals didn’t jump at any offers. According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said, “We got hit a lot on our left-handed hitters … but we were not motivated to move players that we had under control unless we were, to put it mildly, blown away. And we just weren’t.”
Luis Robert, OF, Chicago White Sox – The New York Mets were rumored to be in the hunt for the Cuban outfielder, but ended up getting Cedric Mullins from the Baltimore Orioles. Robert’s production has declined since his 38-homer season of 2023, and he’s only played more than 100 games in a season once. The last time the Mets acquired a Cuban outfielder at the deadline, they went to the World Series, but this year, they went with Mullins, who has better production numbers this year and has played a full season’s worth of games more than Robert since 2020.
Luis Severino, P, The Athletics – Mason Miller’s departure was the big move for the Athletics, who received three pitchers who are nearly MLB-ready and the San Diego Padres’ No. 1 prospect in exchange for the flame-throwing closer. That means that Severino, who signed with the A’s as a free agent last offseason, will remain in the green and gold for the remainder of the season. The native of the Dominican Republic has been vocal about his dislike for the A’s temporary home in West Sacramento, Sutter Health Park, but he’s going pitching there for the rest of the season, at minimum. His three year, $67 million contract expires after the 2027 season.
Photo: Athletics starting pitcher Luis Severino throws against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning of an opening-day baseball game, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Seattle. Severino was rumored to be traded at the MLB trade deadline, but the A’s didn’t move him. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
