Can Miami Marlins Actually “Win” A J.T. Realmuto Trade?
After a year of Lewis Brinson looking like a Fish to throw back, can the Miami Marlins reel in enough to satisfy fans, experts?
The finest baseball minds in the Miami Marlins organization spoke immensely highly of last year’s prospect haul when Christian Yelich was shipped off to Milwaukee. Four of Miami’s five best players were dealt last offseason, with only one of those deals netting a top prospect. That haul was headlined by Brinson. Consensus top two product in the Brewers system. Amongst the twenty highest rated prospects on the MLB Top 100 List for 2018. Plus three other players, making it a four for one swap. One of those other names, Isan Diaz, also just cracked the same MLB Top 100 for 2018. Other services had Diaz outside of their Top 100, but Monte Harrison in it.
Bottom-line, two Top 100 players and two other decent guys, all for a player who had never made an All-Star Game. And one of those prospects was considered borderline can’t miss good. What could go wrong?
Of course, after a one year sample size, the answer was everything. Yelich blossomed, earning NL MVP honors in Milwaukee. Brinson struggled all year, failing to even bat .200 for the season. Even with time lost to injury, the contrast was jarring. Of Marlins players who played a similar number of games (109), Brinson (.199) only outperformed Yadiel Rivera (.173). And Rivera came free. In fact, he was let go by the Brewers. Based purely on last year’s performance, Brinson was the Miami Marlins sixth best outfielder in 2018.
And bad as all that sounds, that’s only the on the field half of the story. The biggest reason Yelich was never an All-Star was that he played with two other All-Star outfielders during his time in Miami. Yet if a well-rounded player was what you were after, he was the best of three, and by far the cheapest. Even at the time of the trade, praise was sparse. The nicest thing said about it by most outside experts was that it was the best trade of the four. Lastly, as much as the new Miami Marlins ownership likes to ignore, there is a track record to consider. Most Marlins fans still generally expect their team to make the wrong move. And even the most rabid Jeter defenders- there are many- were given pause by Brinson’s 2018 ineptitude. One year later, none of the other three players cracked the updated MLB Top 100 list.
Which brings us, laboriously, to the great J.T. Realmuto Sweepstakes of 2019. Can the Marlins really win this? Is there a conclusion to the drama that causes the majority of the baseball world to nod their approval? One that makes Marlins fans go, “good job Derek?”
As a long suffering but practical fan, I’m skeptical, but have my price. Let’s explore the options.