5 Years Later: Philadelphia Phillies trade for JT Realmuto

Today marks the 5th anniversary of the trade that sent Miami Marlins catcher JT Realmuto to Philadelphia in return for former Phillies top prospect Sixto Sanchez, catcher Jorge Alfaro, and LHP Will Stweart. 

Listen, we all know what JT Realmuto has done for the Philadelphia Phillies over the past five years, but looking at the other side of the trade, whatever happened to guys like Sixto Sanchez, Jorge Alfaro, and Will Stewart?

Here’s a quick breakdown of the winners and losers from the trade that spoiler alert should honestly should be considered one of the best moves in Philadelphia Phillies franchise history.

Tracking down Sanchez, Stewart, and Alfaro: Losers

Sanchez made his MLB debut with the Marlins on Aug. 22, 2020 during the COVID-shortened season. He pitched a total of seven games. What looked to be a promising career, Sanchez started 3-2 with a 3.46 ERA. Unfortunately, his career came to a screeching halt, a crash if you will, and has been completely derailed by injury.

The 25-year-old has not seen an MLB mound since the 2020 season. 

Since then, Sanchez has thrown one inning of competitive baseball, where he struck out two batters with the Marlins AA affiliate, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, at the end of the 2023 season. 

In full recovery mode, there’s a chance that Sanchez could be poised for an MLB return in the 2024 season but it will be difficult to crack the Marlins rotation. Even with Miami’s struggles, their starting pitching is relatively solid. With guys like Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez not going anywhere and Jesus Luzardo already a lock to in the rotation, that doesn’t leave much room for Sanchez.

On top of that, Miami has pitchers like Braxton Garrett, who presumably earned a spot going forward after a decent 2023 season, and Trevor Rogers returning this year. Mix in the high-upside of Edward Cabrera and the path back to the MLB-level is suddenly uncertain for Sixto in Miami.

Jorge Alfaro has not had a steady home since being traded by the Phillies. He spent two years in Miami, followed by a season in San Diego, then a stint with the Rockies before being outrighted by the team last year. Alfaro then signed with the Red Sox for the remainder of the 2023 season. 

Alfaro has played 100 games in the last two seasons combined, including a total of 18 games between his time in Colorado and Boston in 2023. The latest from Alfaro is that he signed a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training courtesy of the Chicago Cubs. 

Will Stewart has never made it out of the minor leagues. He spent his entire minor league career in the Miami farm system but has elected free agency, and remains unsigned up to this point. Not much else to say about Stewart.

The Phillies and JT Realmuto: Winners

Realmuto, since being traded to Philadelphia, has made two All-Star appearances and has earned two Golden Glove Awards and Silver Slugger Awards. Realmuto also earned a career-high 7th place in the MVP voting in 2022. 

Obviously, Realmuto has also played a crucial part in both the Phillies recent postseason runs, making it to the 2022 World Series, and the 2023 NLCS. 

JT Realmuto has a batting average of .267 with 581 hits, 95 home runs, 335 RBIs and 334 runs scored in 600 games since joining the Phillies. In the postseason, Realmuto has hit .237 with 27 hits, 6 homers, 18 RBIs and 18 runs scored in 30 games.

Realmuto also inked a 5-year, $115.5 million contract the with the Phillies before the 2021 season and his nickname as “The Best Catcher in Baseball” has held true throughout his tenure in Philly. After what we’ll call a “slow” 2023 season offensively, the Phillies and Realmuto are hoping to get back-on-track in 2024.

If you had asked me five years ago, “Who won the trade”, I may have needed a second to think about it before coming to the realization that “no prospect is untouchable” and the Phillies unloading on unproven talent worked to perfection. No one they gave up ever really panned out for the Miami Marlins, while the Phillies have a key part of their lineup behind home plate.

I think it’s pretty clear who won the trade, right?

Join The Chase

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Matt Slocum, AP Photo