With pitchers and catchers set to report for Spring Training in less than two weeks, a lot of baseball’s biggest free agents have yet to find new homes. Additionally, the biggest name on the trade market this winter, Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, has still not been dealt.
That is expected to change soon as Miami knows if they don’t deal Realmuto before the start of the season, his value will continue to decrease considering he has just two years of club control left.
A number of teams have shown interest in the All-Star, but in recent weeks, the list has seemed to narrow down to the Cincinnati Reds and National League West rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
It appears one team may be showing more interest in the others though. According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, the Padres are currently ahead of the Dodgers:
In J.T. Realmuto trade talks, #Padres are more of a factor than #Dodgers at present, source confirms. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 31, 2019
The Dodgers have already acquired one catcher this offseason, bringing back Russell Martin in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for two prospects.
So unless the Dodgers are able to acquire Realmuto, it looks like they will begin the 2019 season with Martin and Austin Barnes as their two catchers.
Los Angeles also has two of the top catching prospects in all of baseball in Keibert Ruiz and Will Smith, although neither may be big league ready until the latter half of 2019 or 2020.
If the Dodgers are somehow able to complete a trade for Realmuto, then one of those two prospects would likely be a part of the package heading back to Miami.
