The Phillies decided to bite the bullet and part ways with top prospect Sixto Sanchez, catcher Jorge Alfaro, and Will Stewart with international pool money to bring in J.T. Realmuto from the Miami Marlins. MLB analyst Jim Bowden was the first to break the trade.
Realmuto might be the best catcher in baseball as we speak. Last season he made his first All-Star game and finished with a slash line of .277/.340/.484. His power numbers also saw an uptick with 21 HR in 125 games.
That stat line doesn’t even tell the whole story. Realmuto was leaps and bounds better with the bat away from Marlins Park. In away games he slashed .283/.350/.520 and .309/.356/.492 since the begging of his career. Only 8 of 21 of his HR last season came in Marlins Parks. It is reasonable to think that he could hit 25 with half a season in Citizens Bank Park.
Realmuto won’t be coming to Philadelphia for peanuts though.
Sixto Sanchez was the Phillies top overall prospect. MLB.com ranked him as the 21st best prospect in baseball and 5th best among right-handed pitchers. He could throw 94-102 with solid control and was only 20 years old.
Alfaro, while he had his struggles, looked to have upside as well, hitting .262 last season and showing off a canon of an arm in his first full major league season.
Will Stewart is a lefty starter who had a great season in Lakewood in 2018. He posted a 2.06 ERA in 20 starts. He is not currently in MLB.com list of the Phillies top 30 prospects.
Realmuto is certainly a welcome addition to the Phillies roster. It might be comfortable to say that we finally made it out of the rebuild.
