Could the Colorado Rockies trade for Marlins catcher JT Realmuto?

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NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 18: J.T. Realmuto #11 of the Miami Marlins is congratulated by teamamtes after he hit a two run home run scoring teammate Marcell Ozuna#13 in the second inning against the New York Mets on August 18, 2017 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

According to Craig Mish of SiriusXM Radio, Miami Marlins catcher JT Realmuto has requested that he be traded from the team.

Yesterday, Craig Mish of SiriusXM Radio reported on Twitter that Marlins JT Realmuto has asked to be traded from the team.

Source : JT Realmuto has requested a trade from the Marlins.
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) December 18, 2017

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and MLB Network confirmed Mish’s report.

Source confirms report from @CraigMish: #Marlins’ Realmuto wants to be traded. Elite catcher under three years of control likely would bring back significant value.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 18, 2017

Realmuto in the major leagues

Realmuto has played three full seasons in the major leagues plus 11 games in 2014 for the Marlins. In the three full seasons, he has averaged 135 games played (which is high for a catcher) with 139 hits, 13 home runs, 53 RBI, a .281/.323/.430 offensive slashline, and a 104 OPS+.

Defensively, Realmuto struggled in past seasons but in 2017, according to Baseball Prospectus, he was six runs above league average (mostly due to his improved pitch framing metrics, per Fangraphs). It should also be noted that Realmuto is, compared to all catchers, a very good baserunner. MLB.com’s Statcast has him far and away the best baserunning catcher in baseball (h/t Fangraphs) at more than a foot per second faster than Willson Contreras of the Chicago Cubs, the next leading baserunner at catcher.

The Rockies interest in Realmuto

I think that the Rockies interest should be rather high. First off, he is young (he will turn 27 years old on March 18). Secondly, he is under team control for another three seasons before he becomes a free agent. Thirdly, he is cheap on payroll (he is projected to make about $4 million in arbitration according to Fangraphs). Considering that recently signed Chris Iannetta is atop the Rockies depth chart at catcher, the team would get a significant upgrade with Realmuto catching.

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