Philadelphia Phillies acquire J.T. Realmuto for four pieces

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MIAMI, FL – AUGUST 21: J.T. Realmuto #11 of the Miami Marlins in action against the New York Yankees at Marlins Park on August 21, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

The epic saga of J.T. Realmuto finally came to a close today, as the Philadelphia Phillies acquired the backstop for three players and international signing money.

After over a year of rumors about his future, J.T. Realmuto finally has a new home, though it’s not one that really was rumored at all until the last week, as the Philadelphia Phillies stepped in and made a giant offer to snag the catcher.

Expressing his discontent with the moves the franchise made last offseason, many expected that Realmuto wouldn’t begin the 2018 season as a member of the Miami Marlins, but the team instead held onto him, reportedly entertaining trade offers throughout the season on him, coming close in July to moving him, but not pulling the trigger.

That set up the firestorm of rumors that became this offseason in Miami around the 28-year-old catcher coming off a career year where he hit .277/.340/.484 with 21 home runs, making his first All-Star team. At times, it seemed every player in the league was in on Realmuto, depending on which beat reporter you listened to.

Seemingly not finding the right deal for them, the Marlins finally pulled the trigger when the Phillies offered catcher Jorge Alfaro, pitching prospects Sixto Sanchez and Will Stewart, and a reported $250,000 in international spending bonus money.

Realmuto

Some have called Realmuto the best catcher in baseball, and by some measures in 2018, he was that, producing the top WAR among catchers, according to Fangraphs. He’s known for being an excellent gap hitter that makes consistent contact and shows impressive athleticism behind the plate.

While he had a brilliant 2018, there are shortfalls to Realmuto’s game. He does not walk a lot, especially for a guy that currently looks to sit in the middle of the Phillies lineup. He also is not well-regarded as a pitch framer, typically ranking roughly league-average.

Realmuto is under contract for $6 million for 2019 and has another year of arbitration that will likely end up in the $10-15 million range. Teams that wanted to have extension talks were told no by the Marlins, but it’s expected that Realmuto will ask for a deal that reaches Yasmani Grandal‘s annual salary for 2019 by the 2nd or 3rd year of any extension talks.

Now let’s take a look at the return for the Marlins, starting with the big piece they got back, Sixto Sanchez.

Sixto

While Jorge Alfaro may be the major leaguer going to Miami in the return, the top overall player involved in this deal is certainly right-hander Sixto Sanchez.

While the Phillies may have one of the best scouting departments in Latin America, developing those Latin arms they snag has not gone well so far, so this could be a bonus for both Sixto and the Marlins. Sanchez is a 6′ pitcher from the Dominican Republic who will turn 21 in late July of 2019.

While 19 for the majority of the 2018 season, Sanchez pitched at high-A Clearwater when he wasn’t facing injury. He made just 8 starts, tossing 46 2/3 innings, but those innings were impressive, to say the least, as he posted a 2.51 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and an 11/45 BB/K ratio.

Sanchez is blessed with a power sinker that he can run into the upper 90s with seeming ease, and he pairs that with a four-seamer that touches 101. His power slider and change both locate very well in the zone.

If anything, Sanchez suffers a bit from what I’ve seen as an organizational focus from the Phillies at lower levels to feature the fastball heavily. While he may have an elite fastball, he is more control than command right now, so he hits the zone hard, but often he’ll miss within the zone, allowing him to get hit hard.

As long as the Marlins are patient here, they could have an ace. I had Sanchez ranked #19 overall in my top 150 prospect rankings, and he’s been around that ranking with other major rankers as well (#13 Baseball America, #27 MLB Pipeline, #23 Baseball Prospectus).

Now let’s take a look at the rest of the Marlins’ return…

Alfaro

If Realmuto is the best athlete in catcher’s gear on the field, Alfaro is the best raw athlete that plays catcher in the major leagues right now. He’s really the only other catcher in Realmuto’s range in sprint speed. Alfaro also possesses incredible raw power at the plate.

It’s getting to all those tools and doing so consistently that has been the issue for Alfaro, though even at his raw production level in 2018, he was an above average catcher at just 25, hitting 10 home runs in 377 plate appearances. He needs to be more consistent behind the plate and more patient at the plate, but he’s still quite young and will have time to develop with this young Marlins team.

Stewart

A 20th round pick out of Alabama high school, Will Stewart had a lot of raw potential, but the Phillies had to be patient with him. Unlike their development of Latin arms, they seem to do well with high school arms when they do select them in letting them develop at their pace.

Stewart won’t blow anyone away with velocity, but he features an excellent array of pitches that he’s shown the ability to manipulate for movement. He has plus command and control, which allowed him to tear through low-A in 2018, sporting a 2.06 ERA over 113 2/3 innings. The lefty will get his shot a high-A in 2019 and could be a solid #3/#4 starter.

International money

After pushing their chips heavily in on the Mesa brothers, the Marlins were left with very little in international money. The reported amount the Phillies sent was $250,000. That won’t get them into the market for prized Cuban shortstop Yolbert Sanchez, but it could help them land a few players at the end of the signing period before the end of spring.

Next. 2019 MLB top 150 prospects. dark

All in all, this was a very, very good return for the Miami Marlins and an “all-in” move by the Philadelphia Phillies. It will be interesting to watch how it plays out in 2019 and beyond.

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