MLB Trade Rumors: Gary Sanchez For J.T. Realmuto Trade Talks Heat Back Up
Talks have been swirling for almost three months that the Yankees have to upgrade at catcher and that J.T. Realmuto is who they have their eye on. It is no longer a point of hypothetical thinking in saying that Sanchez is the worst defensive starting catcher in baseball, as was reported at the Inquisitr. Lately, his bat has not been making up for the runs he is giving away with defensive lapses and an alleged lack of hustle. Add in that he has missed two months of the season with groin injuries, and Sanchez is no longer a piece that manager Aaron Boone can depend on.
While Austin Romine has been a solid backup, and some argue that his defense and on-field leadership makes up for his weak bat, the Yankees generally go for the total package when it comes to their primary backstops. That is the reason that the J.T. Realmuto talks never seem to die down. The early thinking was that a straight swap may take place, but giving up a bat with the potential of Sanchez’s is iffy. He could become a stable and explosive hitter over an entire season rather than in spurts if he was more confident of his overall game, as theorized by Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
There have been talks of making Sanchez a first baseman and trying to trade other chips for Realmuto. That sounds good, except that Sanchez would become the Dave Kingman of his generation; and the word on Kingman was that he may as well be using a waffle iron for a glove with as many errors as he made. First base is not the place for a low-mobility, bad glove defender. Plus, there is talk of Miguel Andujar moving there, per NJ Advance Media. He has just as good a bat as Sanchez, and while he is the worst defensive third baseman in baseball, he is still statistically better than Sanchez in the field. He’s also more durable. That doesn’t even factor in Luke Voit and Greg Bird, who may earn the position in the spring if they are still with the team.
What do the Yankees do with Gary Sanchez? #GarySanchez #Yankees #MLBhttps://t.co/JSS5lelHZd
— Paul Lebowitz (@PRINCE_OF_NY) September 6, 2018
Realmuto is two years older than Sanchez, but for the Yankees’ needs right now, that is not bad. He is entering arbitration this year, so he will get paid, and possibly more than the Marlins want to spend during their rebuilding phase, according to the Inquisitr. Sanchez is under club control for two more years, and his deal is extremely affordable.
For each team, the swap makes sense, as the Marlins can work with Sanchez behind the plate or try him in new positions without making their fan base irate. It may or may not happen, but the fact that it keeps coming up from solid sources means that there may be some meat on this bone.
