All offseason long, one of the hottest commodities on the trade market has been Miami Marlins All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto. Despite widespread interest, he has not yet been dealt due to there being such a high price tag on him.
One of the main teams that has been linked to Realmuto is the Los Angeles Dodgers, and their interest has reportedly picked up steam in recent days after they signed outfielder A.J. Pollock to a contract.
The Marlins were insisting on Cody Bellinger in return at the beginning of the winter, which the Dodgers understandably were unwilling to do. A package now could be focused on top catching prospect Keibert Ruiz.
It appears the Dodgers still have some competition though. According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the San Diego Padres are also still in contact with the Marlins about Realmuto:
While Padres are in on Machado, he’s not their lone target. According to a source, San Diego also remains in trade talks with the Marlins about J.T. Realmuto.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 25, 2019
The Padres have one of the best farm systems in all of baseball so they could easily trump the Dodgers’ offer for Realmuto is that is what they desire.
With San Diego still being a year or two away from competing though, it may not make much sense to dip into their farm system to acquire a catcher that only has two more years of club control left.
As Feinsand mentioned, the Padres are also now showing interest in one of the top free agents on the market, Manny Machado, who finished out the 2018 season with the Dodgers.
If the season were to start today, the Dodgers would be heavy favorites to win the National League West for the seventh straight season. No matter what moves the Padres make, that is not going to change. But it looks like they are attempting to close that gap and capitalize on a division that is expected to be one of the worst in baseball outside of the Dodgers in 2019.
