MLB Trade Rumors: Should the Minnesota Twins Consider Making a Deal for the Miami Marlins' J.T. Realmuto?
Twins now have an opening catcher after starter Jason Castro sustained an injury that will keep him out for the rest of the year
Coming off a surprising playoff berth last year, the Minnesota Twins appeared set to take another step forward in their development this season.
With a young core group of position players and emerging pitchers including Jose Berrios, the Twins were looking like a team that could make it to the playoffs again.
Thus far though, the team has played inconsistently this season, causing them to post a record under .500.
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Their playoff chances took another hit after starting catcher Jason Castro tore his meniscus recently. Surgery has already been performed to address the injury, but the recovery and rehab process is expected to keep Castro out of action for the rest of this season.
Injuries are never good, but in this case, there may be a silver lining to this recent event.
According to this recent report from ESPN, Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey is now in the process of evaluating teams' other catchers and determining if one of them may be able to help the Twins for the rest of this season.
At this point at least, no one candidate has emerged as a possible trade target, but if the Twins want someone who can really increase their playoff chances for this year, then maybe they should take a good long look at current Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto.
The Marlins are still expected to be in full sell mode, and though Realmuto has gotten off to a terrific start this year, the franchise could very well part with him if they are offered enough in a trade.
Realmuto's not just a good hitting catcher as well, as he has also shown that he can more than hold his own defensively. It will be tough for any catcher to switch teams in the middle of a season, but Realmuto is probably as well equipped to handle that move as anyone else in the Majors currently.
Another reason as to why the Twins should be interested in acquiring Realmuto is that he's not just a rental. According to Spotrac, Realmuto still has two more arbitration-eligible years after this season.
Given that Castro already has a significant injury history, there are no guarantees that he will be able to put in another full season of work when he returns next season. It's entirely possible that the 30-year-old's full-time playing days are simply behind him at this point.
That's why paying a potentially significant prospect price for Realmuto can still be worth it for the Twins.
Castro will boost the team's chances of contending for the AL Central crown or perhaps another Wild Card slot this year, and then, he can work with the Twins pitchers over the course of the coming offseason to get better prepared for future seasons.
Who knows, if Realmuto performs well enough with the Twins, they may even think about signing him long-term once he becomes a free agent and consider him as another key piece of their core.
The injury to Castro certainly hurts the Twins, but they can recover from that blow very well by trading for Realmuto.
