Marlins Trade J.T. Realmuto To Phillies For Three Players, Including Top Pitching Prospect
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A trade that the Miami Marlins have been working on for months has finally been completed.
The Marlins have traded All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto to the Philadelphia Phillies for catcher Jorge Alfaro and pitching prospects Sixto Sanchez and Will Stewart.
Miami also received international bonus pool money in the deal.
Realmuto had been the longest tenured Marlins player, the last of the since-traded core group that included Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna.
Last year Realmuto's agent informed the Marlins that he would not sign a long-term deal to remain in Miami, so the team began to explore trade options.
Realmuto's current contract doesn't expire until after the 2020 season.
In Alfaro, the Marlins are getting someone recently considered one of the top catching prospects in baseball.
Fresh off his first full Major League season, Alfaro hit .262 with 16 doubles, 2 two triples, 10 home runs and 37 RBI in 108 games with the Phillies last year.
He threw out 21 attempted base stealers, which tied him for third-most in the National League.
In all likelihood, Alfaro will be on the Marlins' Opening Day roster.
Sanchez will be considered the jewel of the trade and instantly becomes Miami's best minor league pitching prospect. The 20-year-old comes to the Marlins as a former No. 1 prospect in the Phillies' system according to Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs.
A right-handed pitcher, Sanchez was an All-Star for Single-A Clearwater last season, finishing with a 4-3 record and 2.51 ERA in eight starts, striking out 45 batters while walking 11. He missed some time due to right elbow inflammation.
Stewart, 21, has made 40 career minor league starts and total 56 appearances, going 15-6 with a 3.20 ERA while striking out 203 batters in 239.0 innings.
Last season he was both a Midseason and Postseason All-Star for Single-A Lakewood in the South Atlantic League. Stewart posted an 8-1 record with a tidy 2.06 ERA and 90 strikeouts while issuing just 21 walks and holding opponents to a .218 batting average.