Miami Marlins: Who Will Trade For J.T. Realmuto?
By Dylan Smith
Three Clubs in the National League East
The Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves have already tried (and failed) to acquire Realmuto in the past year, and the New York Mets could soon join the hunt.
The Washington Nationals will probably lose Bryce Harper, and J.T. Realmuto could add a nice injection into their lineup. The club relied on Matt Wieters, Pedro Severino and Spencer Kieboom in 2018, and it is reasonable to assume that the club will continue to look for an upgrade, especially with Wieters set to hit free agency. Once Harper officially leaves, maybe the Nationals will finally be motivated to make the move?
The Atlanta Braves have received solid production from Tyler Flowers over the past few seasons, the righty has held his own with the bat and with his glove. The club recently signed Flowers to a very team friendly extension, but with Kurt Suzuki hitting free agency, the Braves could also look to upgrade at catcher.
The Braves have a great young core and “excess” prospects in a packed farm system. A J.T. Realmuto trade seems to make perfect sense for the club. The Braves have the means to deal and Realmuto could be a great help with the club’s young pitchers and in their lineup.
The New York Mets seem to always be in a catching flux. After long time catcher, Travis d’Arnaud went down with Tommy-John surgery, the Amazins’ were forced to rely on Kevin Plawecki, Jose Lobaton and Tomas Nido. Kevin Plawecki missed time as well, causing the Mets to trade for Devin Mesoraco, as they were in dire need of catching depth.
J.T. Realmuto would benefit the Mets offensively and defensively, as the team’s in-house options all struggle to produce consistently on both sides of the ball. Acquiring Realmuto would also add the star-power back into the Mets lineup, something the club has missed with Yoenis Cespedes missing large amounts of time over the past few seasons. The only issue for the Mets is that they may not be willing to deal prospects from their “thin” farm system, especially right away with Brodie Van Wagenen’s regime recently taking control.