The Philadelphia Phillies have reportedly acquired all-star catcher JT Realmuto from the Miami Marlins. The deal sends catcher Jorge Alfaro, pitching prospects Sixto Sanchez and Will Stewart, as well as an international bonus slot. The deal was reported by Jim Bowden of The Athletic, closely followed by Jeff Passan with further details on the full trade.
#Phillies #Marlins deal agreed upon. 4 players going to #Marlins including Sanchez and Alfaro in return for Realmuto.
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenGM) February 7, 2019
Philadelphia and Miami are in agreement on a trade that would send All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto to the Phillies for catcher Jorge Alfaro, pitching prospects Sixto Sanchez and Will Stewart, and an international bonus slot, league sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 7, 2019
This entire offseason has been filled with free agent rumors but the Realmuto sweepstakes were possibly the biggest rumor generating topic until now. Realmuto was an all-star in the 2018 season and is arguably the best defensive and offensive catchers in the game currently. The Marlins preferred not to trade Realmuto within the division but the Phillies ultimately had the best idea of his value and they ultimately presented the best offer.
Realmuto managed a .270/.340/.484 slash with the rebuilding Marlins, he also hit 21 home runs and drove in 78 RBI’s in the 2018 season. Sixto Sanchez is the Phillies top pitching prospect and joining him with the Marlins is Will Stewart who will most likely spend his year in High-A ball for the Marlins. The big leaguer the Marlins acquired is Jorge Alfaro who is a catcher with average defense and a slash of .262/.324/.407 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI’s for the Phillies last year.
This trade does not put them out of the Bryce Harper running, the Phillies are still the top potential landing spot for Harper. The Phillies offseason for their offense has gone quite well with the addition of veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen as now adding arguably the best catcher in baseball, and still being the top landing spot for Bryce Harper.
