Marlins trade Realmuto to Phillies for Alfaro, prospects
The Miami Marlins traded All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday in exchange for catcher Jorge Alfaro, pitching prospects Sixto Sanchez and Will Stewart, and international bonus pool money.
Realmuto, 27, became a first-time All-Star and Silver Slugger in 2018, posting a .825 OPS with 21 home runs and three stolen bases over 125 games. The catcher is under team control for two more seasons before hitting free agency after his final year of arbitration in 2020.
Phillies general manager Matt Klentak had high praise for Realmuto after the acquisition.
"I think J.T. Realmuto is the best catcher in baseball," Klentak told Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "So I think the upgrade is pretty significant."
Klentak added that the Phillies didn't request time to negotiate an extension with the slugging backstop prior to finalizing the transaction, per Lauber.
The 2018 season was Alfaro's first full year in the big leagues. Over 108 games as Philadelphia's primary catcher, the 25-year-old owned a .262/.324/.407 slash line with 10 home runs and three stolen bases. Alfaro won't be eligible for arbitration until the 2021 season and has five years of team control remaining.
Sanchez, 21, was considered the No. 1 prospect in the Phillies' system and is considered the 27th-best prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. The right-hander authored a 2.51 ERA and 2.66 FIP over eight starts with High-A Clearwater last year. Elbow and collarbone injuries limited his workload and kept him out of Arizona Fall League.
Stewart enjoyed a bit of a breakout in the minors last year. The 21-year-old left-hander posted a 2.06 ERA over 113 2/3 innings with Single-A Lakewood.
Miami reportedly received $250,000 in international bonus pool money as part of the trade, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.