Sandy Alcantara, Robby Snelling headline Marlins' visit to PSL

It had been 539 days since Sandy Alcantara last set foot on a big league mound. 

That drought ended on Sunday when the 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner, who missed all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, started the Marlins' first game away from Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium this spring, throwing one scoreless inning in a 1-1 tie against the division rival New York Mets.

The two-time All-Star capped off his return to the mound with a strikeout of Jose Siri on a 99 mph fastball. Of his 17 pitches thrown on the day, 13 were fastballs from Alcantara, with his last one of the day being a sinker that registered at 98.7, per Statcast.

Alcantara admitted postgame that he was "a little bit nervous" about finally returning to the mound in a game environment after such a long lay-off. Entering from the bullpen, he had some doubts about how well he'd be able to command his pitches, but he knew that his usual velocity was in there. "Today, my arm feels so good and I'm just trying to let it go."

Of note, too, was the spring debut of left-hander Robby Snelling, who barely had to break a sweat in his seven-pitch scoreless bottom of the second. A former first-round pick of the San Diego Padres in 2022 and currently the 10th-ranked left-handed pitching prospect, according to MLB.com, Snelling sat 94-96 with his fastball Sunday, touching 96.7 at one point. Snelling will pitch all of 2025 at just 21 years old, not yet 22 until December 19. 

Next up on the Grapefruit League schedule, the Marlins will visit the Houston Astros on Monday at 1:05 p.m. Ryan Weathers gets the start.