MLB OFF-SEASON HOT STOVE THREAD

if there is any truth to this rumor, I would say that the high regard for Sanchez is perhaps a notch lower than the Yankees are letting on. It’s a very tough deal to rate. The offensive ceiling on Sanchez is “King Kong climbing the Empire State Building”, but his defensive floor is somewhere below the subway.

The offensive ceiling on Realmuto would suggest he’s likely already shown his best, and may be expected to regress, but his defensive ceiling right up there with that of Dsmchez’s offensive ceiling.

It’s rather telling that the Yankees are indicating that they don’t want to include any premium prospects in the deal. That statement reveals that they know they need to sweeten the pot.

It’s a deal that I can take or leave, but I think we’d be better off with Realmuto to be honest. Sanchez carries some drama with him, and his size along with his defensive issues suggests he may not be catching for too many years. The Marlins have time to figure that out and see if he can play 1st base of will wind up being a DH.

Yes, the more I think about it, I like defense first. I especially like it at catcher, SS, 2B, and CF. I’m at least 60% in favor of this getting done. The Yankees can then add a big lefty bat and not miss Sanchez’ power...

The pot is stirring....

I have no doubt about that, Chi. In fact, I fully expect him to do that multiple times in his MLB career. But is he a catcher? Realmuto is. Realmuto is also one of, if not THE fastest catcher in MLB on the bases, controls the running game quite well, is a good pitch framer who had 8 less PB than Sanchez last season in about 40 more games. He also swung at the lowest number of pitches out of the strike zone in his career while remaining aggressive, and had the third-most HR among MLB catchers last season, so he’s no slap-hitter, either...While hitting over 30 doubles in each of the past three seasons...

One is a slugger with potential behind the plate. The other is a finished product that you’ll grow to love when you see him catch...and in today’s environment, he’s a “contact hitter”...

Aww, shucks. It’s an honor to be appreciated by one one of the all-time great posters...Thanks...

Yes. I believe so. In fact, I believe I posited that I would do an even up Sanchez for Realmuto before the regular season ended. I guess I haven’t changed my mind, even though at one point I was wavering on it...

I know it doesn’t compare to this, but years ago when I was in a Strat-O-Matic league and won ten consecutive titles, I shocked everyone by eschewing choosing an ace pitcher in the first round of our annual draft to select Gary Carter to catch. He had the best-rated throwing arm at the position, plus had a power bat. Most of the time no one would pick anything but a starting pitcher for the first 2 rounds at least.

If you look at the quality of the catching position in MLB right now, it’s quite rare to have a catcher who is good on both sides of the ball. Realmuto checks all the boxes and is just starting his peak years. I just don’t think it to be wise to sit idly by while the Red Sox improve their weakest position by acquiring Realmuto, or the Astros for that matter, who would be in a better position to put a package together to trade.

Sanchez? Yeah. He might...and probably will be a big comeback player next year. Or... Do you by any chance remember Earl Williams? At this point, the story is looking eerily similar. Williams has those raw catching skills and monster power, won the NL Rookie of the Yrar Award, and just didn’t last, nor ever improve as a catcher...

Sanchez for Realmuto would be a gutsy move for both teams, with a high potential for blowing up in somebody's face.  I think that lessens the odds of it actually happening.  This is where GMs earn their pay.

There is no question Realmuto has been a steadier, more predictable performer so far in his career.  His OBP for the last three seasons has been .343, .332 and .340.  OPS+ has been 111, 112 and then a jump to 131.  Still, all pretty steady.

Sanchez's numbers have been a plunge over those same three seasons, with OBP marks of .376, .345 and .291.  OPS+ has gone from 168 to 126 to 86.

Defensively, Gary has to plead nolo contendre.  His 40 PBs in 216 games at catcher compares to 36 in 449 games for JT.  I realize PBs are not the only defensive measure for a catcher, but Sanchez is so extreme in this regard that it's hard not to focus on it.  Realmuto has also played 22 games at first base, with no errors.

As an anonymous poster on an internet board, I would make this trade.  But if Sanchez goes to the Marlins and becomes a regular 30-35 HR a year guy who upgrades his backstopping from horrific to merely bad, while Realmuto goes into a slow fade and leaves via free agency in 2021, I'll be first in line screaming for Cashman's hide.  Just sort of kidding, but I would be really surprised if a straight-up deal like this ever happens.  What I really don't want is for Boston to get him, because that would plug their most glaring hole.

Inger, the Earl Williams comparison is very insightful, although I hope it doesn't pan out that way in the long run for Sanchez.  Like Sanchez, Williams was a big guy with both personality and passed ball issues who started very strong with the Braves and then went into a steady decline, much of it I was happy to recall with the Orioles.  They kept expecting him to regain his form.  I looked him up and see he had 71 PBs in 456 games as a catcher.  Almost exactly twice as many as Realmuto in almost the exact same number of games.  Sadly, Sanchez's PB rate is even worse than that of Williams, by a factor of about 20 percent.  I notice that Earl Williams passed away several years ago.  There probably aren't more than four or five of us on this board who remember him.