Boston Red Sox: Four potential catching upgrades
By Josh Ejnes
J.T. Realmuto
Throughout this offseason, J.T. Realmuto has probably been the league’s most popular potential trade target not named Corey Kluber. S.I.’s Scooby Axson reports that six teams are currently engaged in Realmuto related trade talks with the Marlins.
The Red Sox aren’t one of those teams, but they should be.
Realmuto would be an amazing get for both baseball and financial reasons. Last year he slashed an impressive .277/.340/.484 with 21 HRs in 531 plate appearances for the Marlins. It’s unusual to see this type of offensive production coming from a catcher, and Realmuto, who’s only played four full major league seasons, is only at the beginning of his prime.
On top of being really good, Realmuto is relatively cheap. He’s set to make $5.9 million this year and is arbitration eligible next year, which is a steal for the type of offensive production he brings to a team.
To put into context what a steal this is let’s look at Realmuto’s 2018 numbers next to those of Yasmani Grandal, who recently signed a one year $16 million dollar deal with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Grandal slashed .241/.349/.466 in 518 plate appearances last year for the Dodgers, a line strikingly similar to Realmuto’s from last year. Realmuto can be had for less than half the cost of Grandal, so going after him is kind of a no brainer.
The one wrench in all of this is that the Marlins understand how attractive Realmuto is, and apparently are asking for a lot in return for him. Acquiring him might require giving up a young, everyday player like Xander Bogaerts or Jackie Bradley Jr., which is something the Red Sox might not be willing to do.