Dodgers Rumors: Miami Marlins Want Cornerstone Player From Los Angeles for J.T. Realmuto
J.T. Realmuto has been linked to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and fans seem to have him on their wish-list. However, what if it came with a price tag of Cody Bellinger? Indeed, the Marlins are hopeful to land Bellinger in any potential trade involving Realmuto.
This comes courtesy of AM570’s David Vassegh, who says that ‘people in Miami’ have told him that will be the asking price.
.@THEREAL_DV talks to the guys about @RogginAndRodney about the latest #Dodgers rumors. https://t.co/PXtNZTRPBJ
— AM 570 LA Sports (@AM570LASports) November 15, 2018
Here is the exact quote from Vassegh:
What I have been told from people in Miami, if the Dodgers were trying to get J.T. Realmuto, they would have to give up somebody like a Cody Bellinger. It would take one of those guys (Puig, Verdugo) and Bellinger.
Now, Miami has long been known for their insane trade demands; dating back to a different brass in the front office. Nonetheless, let’s walk that back a bit.
The Miami Marlins would want not only Cody Bellinger – but also one of either Yasiel Puig or Alex Verdugo. For a catcher. I’m sorry, but that’s absolute insanity. If the Dodgers were to sign off on a straight up deal of Bellinger for Realmuto; I will resign as editor of the blog immediately.
You also call to question Vassegh’s source on something like this – how well dialed in is he in Miami? Let’s assume the source is a good one. Even then, there is significant talking that needs to happen for these two sides to get closer. It’s obvious that Miami knows the Dodgers are a fit for Realmuto. It will be up to the Dodgers front office to bring these talks back to planet earth where we all reside.
Analysis
It’s fair to assume that Bellinger is close to untouchable with his two-year resume in baseball. We have discussed possible packages that make sense for Realmuto in our eyes. What we can we deduct? The true package probably lies somewhere very in between.
From Miami perspective, never heard a word about Bellinger …. nor would I want to! Ruiz, Lux and May … that’s the deal.
Please let’s not forget Miami has two morons in charge, Derek Jeter in the front office and Don Mattingly on the field. Hopefully Friedman is smarter than those two. Oh wait, maybe not.
No way you give up Ruiz and Lux, Catcher and 2B of the future (maybe by 2020).
I would propose Smith, Toles and Wood, even throw in Rios. That gives the marlins a top C prospect, a starting Of, starting 1B and starting LHP. I’d even throw in Chris Taylor and May and have Marlins add 2B Castro.
Wonder if Jeter’s relationship with Clay Bellinger had him leading with Cody?
I have been a Dodger fan since I was 5 and I am 73 now..saw my first game at Ebbets Field..if the front office pulls a bonehead play like this and trades Cody.. I will forever root against the Dodgers… the front office moves lately have not impressed me..and just the thought of this trade scares me went it comes to the front office..Brad is so correct..is Friedman smarter???
Don’t get excited , this is just someone looking for clicks.
If the Dodgers can sign J.T. Realmuto to a long term contract go for it! Catching is more important then a hitter who does not make contact enough, Alex Verdugo has to play
I can’t sign off on this in agreement. Catchers age quicker than farm equipment. Jon Lucroy was the apple of everyone’s eye a few years ago. He’s burned out. Bellinger/Verdugo could be great 10 years from now and should be.
Totally agree. The Marlins need this trade more than we do. I can live with Barnes / whoever and may even be willing to rush Smith a little bit. I’ll take JT if they want to be reasonable. I’d give them Smith, one of May, Santana or Gonsolin maybe. And a guy like Rios. I think Muncy and Smith would be fair deal.
Clint, I absolutely cannot sign off on that deal either. Simply put, if Freidmn did this deal he would show all of the baseball world he has far less baseball intelligence than both Jeter and Mattingly COMBINED! @nd base and a couple of good back end of BP guys to bridge it to Kenley is way more important. I can’t remember where I heard someone say that for 2019 Dodgers may be better off settling for less offense from the catchers if they can otherwise improve in other areas. One area for offensive improvement is to learn how to put the ball in play more often and not strike out in key situations that this team has done all yer long.
Its ridiculous to suggest trading Bellinger for 2 years of Realmuto. Bellinger is 23 years old. He’s still learning how to hit in professional game. He may be a 280-290 hitter with 35 hr 100+ rbi and ops of 900+ by time he’s playing his age 25-32 seasons. Can’t trade the guy for 2 years of Realmuto offense. Realmuto was worse than Grandal in most defensive metrics last year so why are some ready to trade so much for him.
why do we always think the other team is so dumb they will take our rejects for their superstars? do we need a catcher more than a power hitting outfielder who can be replaced in house. The jury is still out on bellinger. shake your head. you have to give up to get quality. we have an abundance of average/marginal players. almost any deal for realmuto would be a good deal.
There is a lot of shaky ground in this thinking, I feel. Any deal for Realmuto is a good one? He’s 28.
If they can get JT for Cody its a good deal. We need a catcher for 2 years till the rooks come up and Cody is overhyped. Good rookie season till they found his weak spot and he still hasn’t corrected it. His #’s for a 1st baseman or a CF not great. Opens up a spot for Verdugo. Like the idea of adding Taylor (another overhyped player who K’s way too much) for Castro. Solves the 3 biggest needs the Dodgers have. I for one don not believe the amount of HR’s this team had was worth the amount of K’s they had causing runners at 3base with less then 2 outs to be squandered. Lets get a hitting coach that teaches the basics instead of the elevated swing.
Read this 5 times back.
Cody Bellinger set the National League Rookie Home Run Record. He was the youngest position player to ever win an NLCS MVP Award.
no way iI include Bellinger in any deal right now. hey how about offering up Muncy, I mean the pitchers have already showed around the league that they have adjusted to him and although he won Game 3 of WS with a walk off HR, the rest of his AB’s were strikeouts in epic proportions. Add Muncy and perhaps a choice of a few others not named Bellinger or Ruiz and then Bellinger can return to 1st base where he belongs. He’s already shown to be close to a Gold Glove at that position and I was NEVER in favor of him being pushed to the OF in the first place.
In 2017 Bellinger also led all of MLB as a LHB with 12 HR’s against LHP and a .271 BA against them. Yes , his 2018 numbers were not the same but with the excessive platooning in place in 2018, and pitchers having adjusted to him, he didn’t quite fair as well against either side, but still had an over all good year in a down year with 25 HR’s. Again, let Muncy go instead.
Bellinger also hit .271 with and MLB leading 12 HR’s against LHP as a LHB in 2017. Pitchers have adjusted to him since of course but still not too shabby of a 2018 season with 25 HR’s while being shifted back and forth from 1st base to CF. Platooning with him and others throughout didn’t help much either.
I totally agree with you. Bellinger did this at 21 and 22. Do people really believe this is him at his best? Thats just plain ignorant if they do. Bellinger could be a superstud by time hes 25,26.
He won that MVP off of a game winner and 1 homerun, but struggled for most of the series, not impressive
Cody’s OPS was 7th in the league WAR was 6th among all center fielders in a down year. His numbers are indeed great for a CF. Realmuto was the best catcher in a league full of mediocre catchers. In fact, I’ll take Barnes’ 2017 over Realmuto’s 2018. Smith and Ruiz are likely only a year a way. There’s no way I trade 4 more years of Belli straight up for 2 years of Realmuto. Likewise for Lux. Lux has the chance to be an All-Star shortstop. He OPS’d over 900 as a 20 yo split between A+ and AA. Those guys don’t grow on trees. This trade would get you fired.
Great post 59inarow
Bad idea to help them completely rebuild to only get a 2 year catcher. They would want Ruiz or Smith, Santana, Lux, Rios. Probably beat us in the playoffs down the road with our own guys. Rios has no place here, but the rest do
I wouldn’t give up Cody Bellinger for a catcher unless it’s a 23 year old Mike Piazza.
Piazza was so horrible defensively, I wouldn’t even do that move. Try 23 yo Ivan Rodriquez or Yadier Molina.
But then again who knows what this saber metric mess of a franchise has done to these prospects. We may get a rude surprise that they are all Bellinger types. HR or K. I pray that our prospects are being developed into good all around hitters but with friedman and Zaidi running the show for years I doubt it
This is in-freakin-sane!!!
I have been a Dodgers fan all my life. We cannot afford to give those Idiots Bellinger or any other key piece to our success. We should just use what we got in the system. Production would be the same as what we have already
it’s laughable really. In all honesty anything they want should include salary. Sure we will give you smith, puig, and maybe another piece. You gotta take wood, kemp, and anybody else bloating the payroll. Sign Harper, bam you got verdugo, belli/kike/taylor mix , harper and also JT in the fold, that’s the only way I am doing this deal is if they take back salary to make room for Harper plain and simple.
If I were in the front office and I really wanted to go all in and get Realmuto this would be my offer:
* Joc P
* Rios
* Draft Pick
First of all, can’t trade draft picks in MLB. Trade Joc, Rios,
Catcher Smith, Santana. That is 3 top prospects and an outfielder to play now. Unless they want Puig instead of Peterson
Do people really think our FO would even consider this kind of trade? What in their last 3-4 years of them running team gives anyone a sense of worry that dodgers will get fleeced? I can’t think of a any trade we have made in last few years that has hurt drastically.
Not a chance the Front Office does this for Bellinger. The one consistent thing out of this front office is the unwillingness to trade top prospects like Seager, Bellinger, Buehler, Urias, and I doubt Verdugo is going anywhere. Teams have asked and the Dodgers have always been willing to throw in more prospects (5 for 1) without giving up the top ones. Pederson or Puig, plus one of the catching prospects, plus a pitching prospect not named Urias is all they are getting for Realmuto. I doubt the Dodgers are willing to move Lux either. Otherwise, the dodgers move on and find another catcher.
Puig is the key here. Exactly what the marlins need to boost their dreadful attendance. His wild crazy approach is perfect for their Cuban fans.
Donnie didn’t like Puig towards the end of his time with the Dodgers, doubt he’d want him in Miami. Plus, he’s do for free agency.
Puig straight up!Divk
Watching Bellinger, I believe his 2018 season is closer to who he is than his 2017 season. Meaning 25-30 HRs, 150+ Ks, low 800s OPS, 75-80 RBIs. I like Muncy better as a hitter, better eye, cleaner swing. Bellinger is a good player, has excellent defensive ability, good baserunner, but don’t see him as a star, just a better than average guy. With Pederson, Muncy, Verdugo, Toles, they can replace him from within with pretty much zero loss in production.
Despite a lot of his good qualities, Bellinger looks like he will always get eaten up by the best pitchers. Too many holes in his swing, and a tendency to chase unhittable pitches. That’s why he becomes somewhat of a liability in the post season. If you need a home run, he’s as good as anyone, but he is a terrible situational hitter, not the guy you want up with runners in scoring position.
“If the Dodgers were to sign off on a straight up deal of Bellinger for Realmuto; I will resign as editor of the blog immediately.”
Clint – I hope your threat carries some weight and I applaud you for it.