Phillies Land All Star Catcher J.T. Realmuto In Blockbuster Trade

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Phillies have landed All Star J.T. Realmuto, arguably the best catcher in baseball, from the Miami Marlins in a blockbuster trade Thursday. It's the latest major offseason move by a Phillies organization that has overhauled much of last year's position player roster in an effort to bring championship baseball back to Philadelphia.

Heading back to Miami in the deal will be Phillies catcher Jorge Alfaro, top pitching prospect Sixto Sanchez, prospect Will Stewart, and international bonus pool money. The deal was first confirmed by the New York Post's Joel Sherman.

Realmuto, 27, is the Phillies' fourth major acquisition of this offseason, behind fellow 2018 All Star Jean Segura, former MVP Andrew McCutchen, and elite reliever David Robertson. Because Realmuto comes cheap — he's owed just $5.9 million in 2019, a bargain for a player of his caliber — he'll in no way impact the Phillies pursuit of superstar free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.

In fact, according to veteran MLB reporter Ken Rosenthal, the Phillies see the acquisition of Realmuto as a way to entice one of those superstars to sign in Philadelphia.

After Harper and Machado, the fate of the Marlins star catcher has been one of this winter's biggest baseball storylines. He's the last vestige of the old Marlins regime that was taken over by the Derek Jeter group, which promptly dealt stars Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, and Marcell Ozuna and launched a full scale rebuild last year.

Ever since then, Realmuto has reportedly wanted out of Miami. Numerous teams tried to pry him loose over the past several months, with the efforts of the Reds, Padres, Dodgers, and Braves all public knowledge. But it was the Phillies, who had expressed interest at the trade deadline last summer and then again briefly at the beginning of the offseason, who swooped in and outbid them all.

The price was unquestionably steep and will be a tough pill to swallow for some Philadelphia fans. Alfaro was the centerpiece of the Cole Hamels trade back in 2015 and was seen as the franchise's catcher of the future. Sanchez, 20, is widely considered one of the best minor league pitchers in the game. Detractors could argue that if the Phillies wanted to upgrade at catcher for the next two years (Realmuto's contract expires after the 2020 season), they could've signed top catchers Wilson Ramos (he went to the Mets on a two-year, $19 million deal) or Yasmani Grandal (Brewers, one-year, $18.25 million) at a very reasonable price, without giving up any prospects.

But Realmuto is younger, arguably better, and there's no doubt he immediately and notably improves the Phillies, who want to win now and are finally ready to sacrifice significant young talent to do it.

Realmuto led all qualifying catchers in baseball in 2018 in several major offensive categories: batting average (.277), runs (74), hits (132), doubles (30), slugging percentage (.484), and OPS (.825). He was second in on base percentage (.340) and third in home runs (21). He even adds a bit of speed (8 stolen bases in 2017, 12 in 2016), an exceedingly rare talent for a catcher.

On the defensive end of the spectrum, while Alfaro's arm is nearly unparalleled in strength, Realmuto is unquestionably an upgrade, grading higher on nearly every metric. That means the Phillies have improved their greatest 2018 weakness, defense, at least in three different places this offseason: catcher, left field, and shortstop.

There's also reason to believe Realmuto will be even better in 2019. To begin with, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia is notorious as a hitter's park. Realmuto's 21 home runs based out of Miami could easily be more like 25 or 30 in the smaller confines of Citizens Bank. Moreover, Realmuto is just entering his prime. He'll be 28 on Opening Day, and the next two years could easily be the best of his career.

Realmuto will be controlled by the Phillies for those two years, through the 2020 season. There's no word yet if they will try to extend his contract before he becomes a free agent.

Even if the Phillies made no further additions — though at least one of Harper or Machado has seemed more than likely for some time now — they'll roll out a vastly different, and improved, position player unit on Opening Day.

It'll be needed to contend in a National League East that has seen four teams make significant improvements this offseason. In addition to the Phillies, the Mets, Nationals, and defending division champion Braves all look like playoff teams. Adding Realmuto might not quite put the Phillies over the top, but it certainly evens things up in what promises to be baseball's most competitive division in 2019.

See related Phillies coverage:

• Phillies Sign Reliever David Robertson To 2-Year Deal
  
• Phillies Sign Former MVP Andrew McCutchen To $50M Deal
  
• Phillies Trade Carlos Santana, J.P. Crawford For Jean Segura
• Sooner Or Later, Phillies Must Address Roster Excesses

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