Once again, Mike Rizzo and the Washington Nationals checked in on Miami Marlins star backstop J.T. Realmuto. Is he a realistic target for the Nats in 2018?
The Washington Nationals still have a clear need at catcher, and the front office is checking in on options. J.T. Realmuto of the Miami Marlins is one of the high-end targets they could get, but is it realistic?
Pedro Severino is the current starter, and although he had a chance to shine, he’s underwhelmed. Spencer Kieboom is the backup, but his limited major league action make him a below average option. Realmuto would be a significant upgrade, there’s no doubt about that.
So far this season, despite missing the first 16 games, he’s hitting .291, with six homers and 20 RBI. He’s also been great with the glove, ranking eighth in baseball in FanGraphs’ defensive rating. That’s one spot better than Severino who’s defensive prowess have impressed so far this year.
Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported that the Nationals had checked in on Realmuto again. In his Inside MLB Notes he said the following:
"The Nats checked in on star Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto a couple weeks back, and word is, they are looking for a “haul,” the type of haul the Nats aren’t willing to surrender. The Nats top two prospects are Juan Soto (now up in the bigs) and Victor Robles, and they’d fit into the Marlins’ needs, which are many."
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It would seem that the Marlins are sticking to the guns they used during the off-season. They still require at least one blue chip prospect in return for their star catcher.
As things stand, Rizzo and the Nats are also holding their ground, keeping Soto and Robles untouchable. And they would be wise to do so, until the price falls.
Soto in particular has proven the Nats general manager correct in holding onto him, as he takes the league by storm this year.
So that begs the question, what would it take to make a deal happen for Realmuto?
Well it would have to center around Carter Kieboom, who is tearing it up so far in 2018. The younger Kieboom has a .296 average, ten homers and 43 RBI. He would only be the start of the deal though.
Sending Brian Goodwin, who has proven he can be useful at the highest level and is under contract through 2022 would make sense. Goodwin doesn’t currently have a firm spot on the 25 man roster, with the outfield logjam, so is expendable.
Then if Rizzo can add in a pair of solid prospects such as Daniel Johnson and Raudy Read, you may at least get Derek Jeter’s attention. Although this is speculation, that’s the kind of price tag the Marlins have on Realmuto right now.
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J.T. Realmuto would be a massive impact addition this Washington Nationals team. But in order to make it worthwhile, they’ll need to get creative to not risk the future of the organization for him.