One of the biggest storylines of the MLB’s offseason will have to do with Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto and where he will be playing next season. The Marlins expressed hope that they would be able to reach an agreement on an extension with Realmuto but his agent Jeff Berry has cast doubt on that telling MLB Network Radio that he expects his client to be wearing a different uniform by the start of spring training.
NEWS: Jeff Berry, agent with @CAA_Baseball, on @MLBNetworkRadio just now regarding client J.T. Realmuto: “I think he will definitely be wearing a different uniform by the start of spring training.” Berry made clear that Realmuto won’t sign an extension with #Marlins. @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 30, 2018
The Atlanta Braves are one of several teams expected to have interest in Realmuto. Atlanta and Miami reportedly discussed a trade for Realmuto at the trade deadline but a deal wasn’t reached. They are expected to revisit those discussions this offseason.
The Braves certainly have the prospect capital to make a deal it just comes down to whether or not GM Alex Anthopoulos is willing to meet what will assuredly be lofty demands.
Realmuto had a career-best season for the Marlins in 2018 hitting .277/.340/.484 with 21 home runs in 125 games. He was worth 4.8 fWAR which was the highest in the majors among catchers. Realmuto will be under team control for both the 2019 and 2020 seasons before becoming a free agent in 2021.