The Phillies have announced that they have acquired All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto from the Miami Marlins in exchange for catcher Jorge Alfaro, right-hander Sixto Sánchez, left-hander Will Stewart and international bonus pool money.
Realmuto, 27, was selected to his first National League All-Star team last season and won the Silver Slugger Award. He played in 125 games (111 starts) with the Marlins and batted .277 with 30 doubles, 21 home runs, 74 RBI and an .825 OPS. He led all major league catchers in total bases (206) and his 49 extra-base hits were tied for the most (Yasmani Grandal). Defensively, Realmuto threw out 14 runners attempting to steal in 48 opportunities.
Per FanGraphs valuation of WAR, Realmuto led all major league catchers with 4.8 fWAR last season (next: Grandal, 3.6), which was the highest by a catcher since Buster Posey posted a 5.5 fWAR in 2015. Further, having played last season at age 27, Realmuto's 4.8 fWAR was the seventh-highest of any catcher, age 27 or younger, over the last 10 seasons, trailing only Joe Mauer (7.6 in 2009 and 5.0 in 2010), Buster Posey (7.6 in 2012, 5.5 in 2014 and 4.9 in 2013) and Brian McCann (4.9 in 2010).
Originally selected by Miami in the third round of the June 2010 draft, Realmuto is a career .279 hitter with 114 doubles, 59 home runs, 243 RBI and a .768 OPS. His 92 doubles since 2016 are more than any other catcher in baseball and his .286 average is the second-highest among all catchers in that span. With at least 35 extra-base hits in each of his first four full seasons in the majors (2015-18), Realmuto joined Johnny Bench and Mike Piazza as the only catchers to do so in major league history. He is under team control through the 2020 season.
Realmuto was the Marlins' nominee for both the 2017 and 2018 Major League Baseball Players Association Heart and Hustle Award. The award is presented annually to an active player who demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game.
Alfaro, 25, played his first full major league season last year and hit .262 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI in 108 games. He tied for the NL lead among catchers with 21 runners thrown out attempting to steal. The 20-year-old Sánchez made eight starts for single-A Clearwater and went 4-3 with a 2.51 ERA, allowing just one home run in 46.2 innings and a .224 batting average to opposing hitters. In 20 starts for single-A Lakewood, Stewart went 8-1 with a 2.06 ERA. Stewart tied for the South Atlantic League lead in shutouts (two) and finished second in ERA.