Philadelphia Phillies: Is the City of Brotherly Love the Best Fit for Realmuto?

There have been many teams this winter that have tried and failed to this point to pry J.T Realmuto away from the Miami Marlins. Now that the Philadelphia Phillies are in the mix can they finally bring an end to the saga?

The narrative of the off-season has largely been based around three questions. Where would Bryce Harper sign? Who would sign Manny Machado? And who was going to trade for the Marlins’ superstar catcher, J.T. Realmuto? As spring training draws nearer, these questions remain unanswered. Every day there is a new rumor: Bryce Harper is meeting with team X, Manny Machado prefers team Y, there are four teams in the final stages of a deal for Realmuto, but nothing ever seems to come of these rumors. The most recent nugget reported by Ken Rosenthal was that the Philadelphia Phillies might be in the market for Realmuto after all.

#Phillies recently checked in on #Marlins’ Realmuto, sources tell The Athletic. Phils, like many teams, routinely monitor markets for top players in trades and free agency. Continued availability of Realmuto led to renewed communication. No indication deal is close.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 5, 2019

Normally, this would not be a very telling rumor as all teams have likely “checked in” on Realmuto. However, it is interesting since the Phillies have hardly been connected to Realmuto at all during this long, grueling process. The Phillies have been busy this off-season but at this point their winter might be better defined by the moves they haven’t made more than the ones they have. There were long stretches of time where the Phils were favored to land not only Bryce Harper but potentially Manny Machado as well. They have been linked to big time pitchers like Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel. The team’s owner, John Middleton, even said that the team was ready to spend big and that they might even be stupid about it, but to this point they have not signed any of these marquis players.

A trade for Realmuto certainly shouldn’t prevent the Phillies from signing any of these other players. Their current payroll obligations stand at roughly $125 million and there is really no reason for them not to be spending close to the luxury tax. Bringing Realmuto into the fold would only add $6 million to the 2019 payroll leaving the team plenty of cash to go after the likes of Harper, Machado, Keuchel or Kimbrel.

Trading for Realmuto would benefit the Phillies nearly as much as any of these free agent signings as well. Realmuto is currently projected for 3.6 fWAR which would actually be his lowest total since his rookie season. Both Manny Machado and Bryce Harper project to be worth more next season than Realmuto with each projected at roughly 5 wins, but neither provide the positional need that the best catcher in baseball can deliver.

In fact, the Phillies could potentially benefit more from a potential Realmuto trade than any of the other reported suitors for the star catcher. Most of the other teams in on Realmuto have solid catching options already in place that they are just trying to improve upon, while the Phillies have a pretty major whole behind the plate. Sure Jorge Alfaro has shown some promise and he has a cannon for an arm, but he does not project to be very good in 2019 and his putrid plate discipline may prevent him from ever becoming even an average hitter in the big leagues.

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It’s actually quite surprising that the Phillies are just now getting into the discussion for Realmuto. The Phillies were in contention almost all of 2018 and seemed primed to compete even more in 2019 and beyond. Therefore, it seems strange that for much of the off-season the team was content to go into the much more difficult 2019 NL East with the projected 29th ranked catching tandem in baseball. A team with aspirations as high as the Phillies cannot afford to go into the season with holes as big as their hole at catcher. Of course they also really need a big bat in the outfield but that can be alleviated by signing Harper if they so choose.

The Phillies also have plenty of prospects to make a deal work. They would likely have to relinquish one of their top pitching prospects with reports coming out today that any Realmuto deal with the Phillies would have to include top prospect, Sixto Sanchez. Sanchez is an elite pitching prospect with the stuff and even command to develop into a front of the rotation starter. However, Sanchez has had an issue staying healthy and has never pitched above high A. As great a prospect as Sanchez is, he is still an extremely risky asset and shouldn’t stop a team with the financial might of the Phillies from making this significant upgrade.

Adding Realmuto alone would put the Phillies right in the thick of the wildcard race. Additionally, signing Harper would put them in contention for the division. These are the kinds of moves that Phillies fans have clamored for all winter and money or prospects should not hinder them from getting done.

As things stand right now, the Philadelphia Phillies project to be the fourth best team in the National League East. After a promising 2018 and assets to spend, there is no reason the Phillies shouldn’t be making a major push to get close to the top of the division.