Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto has lost his arbitration case against the Marlins, Jon Heyman of FanRag tweets. Realmuto was seeking a $3.5MM salary for 2018, but he’ll earn $2.9MM instead. The CAA Sports client is the first player to lose an arb hearing this offseason, as teammate Justin Bour, Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts and Diamondbacks righty Shelby Miller won theirs earlier this week.
It’s unclear whether Realmuto will collect his 2018 salary from the Marlins or another club, given that the 26-year-old stands out as the rebuilding team’s most valuable trade chip. Realmuto has drawn significant interest this winter from the NL East rival Nationals, who have a glaring need behind the plate and a willingness to deal a couple of their top prospects to address it.
Regardless of which uniform he wears this year, Realmuto figures to continue as one of the game’s most valuable backstops. In 2017, his third season, he accumulated upward of 3.5 fWAR for the second straight campaign. Realmuto slashed a solid .278/.332/.451 with 17 home runs in a career-high 579 plate appearances, though his work behind the plate only drew mixed reviews. While Realmuto earned negative marks as a pitch framer from Baseball Prospectus between 2015-16, he was well above average in that department last year, according to BP. Conversely, StatCorner ranked him one of the game’s worst framers in 2017.
The validity of framing metrics may be somewhat up for debate, but it’s clear Realmuto is eminently valuable – particularly at such a low salary and with three years of control remaining. The fact that the arbitration cases for him and Bour are now settled leaves the Marlins with righty Dan Straily as their only arb-eligible player whose 2018 salary isn’t yet determined, as MLBTR’s Arb Tracker shows.
When everyone else is winning and Realmuto loses. RIP
Makes him even more valuable on the trade market. Miami needs to get Juan Soto + for him
I got Juan Soto and a 2nd round pick for Garrett Richards and Giovanny Gallegos in OOTP
I got Bob Lemon for a couple of minor league outfielders in 1946 in OOTP
I got five on it in OOTP
Yes, the 600k makes a huge difference in his trade value…
You’d be surprised
The $600k affects his future earnings… as has been said many times now regarding arbitration.
That 600k could represent a $4-5 million suppression of his salary over the next 2 seasons, depending on his production.
The only team that 600K makes that much of a difference… currently has him.
it’s not just 600k. it’s a lot more than that.
So Miami spends the time to explain in front of him why he is not worth the money he wants, yet they want to explain why he is worth a top 30 prospects, plus. Good luck Miami ownership has a funny way of working.
This is how all arbitration cases and trades work everywhere in all sports and all teams.
Look guy, you keep your logic and correct facts to yourself. They are not welcome here.
Very true , plus Mgnt pissed him off, so he’s gone as soon as he can …
Shouldn’t change trade negotiation parameters. May make him more publicly insistent on a trade which can be ignored by management but is still a PR problem and a problem in the clubhouse. .
Neither Soto or Robles are going anywhere. What you may see is the an enhancement to the package of Fedde and one of the Keiboom brothers with an MLB player like possibly the Say “A” Kid [Micheal A Taylor] or another pitching prospect.
The good news for the Marlins relative to the Nats is they WON their Arbitration case making the hit to the luxury tax a little lighter. That may convince the Nats to make the enhancements necessary to close the Deal
A note to Marlins fans – You are acquiring quite a few talented players and positioning yourself for some high draft fun later this year. With the influx of talent you will have low payroll and a lot of emerging stars for the next five years or so…
That’s not good for the face of the fish either. He’ll for sure be traded now.
So are teams supposed to lose arbitration cases because if they do happen to win, it makes them look bad? Really? Do people even think anymore?
More so J.T. was one of the best catchers in the game of baseball last year, and was unable to get an extra million for arb. is pathetic after clearing that much of their payroll. Do you think anymore bro?
Have you been paying any attention to The Marlins? They clearly stated that they want to be within 85-90 million. If JT is kept, this enables them to get that much closer. And it does not matter if JT was one of the best catchers or not. Are you arguing that since he was one of the best, should he be getting paid 15 million a year just like the best?
Once again, I must ask, do you think?
So he’ll earn 2.9M to play a game. congrats to him!
It’s a lot of money but it’s not that simple.
no it is that simple. He’s still earning 2.9M.
Yeah. While the owners make billions off him
And the owners are pocketing the rest.
Yeah, because the Marlins really rake in that revenue
The Marlins just sold for $1.2 billion. Someone in ownership is making a profit.
Hello, Washington.
This guy’s having a rough offseason
The price not only affects him this year but will affect him through his remaining arbitration years. Not such a little thing
that will be the Marlins biggest win of the season.
but how did Realmuto lose that, really?
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Miller wins and pitched 26 innings before the arm injury. And era was over 4. Do not understand the arbitration process at all.
2.9 Million for a guy that is a High School graduate and plays in the Major Leagues and make a salary beyond any of us can comprehend..
How many of us earns that kind of money and can’t make dinner reservation for themselves. We should feel sorry for him.
This guy should be kissing the ring of opportunity and thankful for it.
You make it sound like being a High School graduate is substandard.
Try having some actual talent and skill like these players do and then come back and complain.
You’re blaming him for picking a career path that earns him more money than you do? Don’t make it sound like he wouldn’t have gone to college if he didn’t make it in baseball or that he’s ungrateful for having the opportunity that he does.
Yet your the one who pays to watch these guys and spends his time following what’s going on…. sounds to me like he is a genius and didn’t need to go to college to figure out how to make higher educated people work for him.
Sorry you don’t have a marketable talent that someone is willing to pay big money for. I can see why you’d be jealous.
Rocky- Your comment is NOT relevant to reality not indicative of baseball players life to get there and etc etc… wake up
He should have got hurt like Shelby Miller
Shelby Miller would have made a lot more if he was healthy. What’s your point?
I was hoping Miami would lose all their arbitration cases.
Perhaps J.T. Realmuto’s case was hurt when Seattle catcher Mike Zunino settled for $2.95 million in his second trip through arbitration as a former Super Two.
Realmuto and Zunino posted nearly identical fWAR last year and Steamer projects similar WAR this year.
Not sure why people get angry at owners making a bunch of money. They put themselves in a position to succeed financially. I can’t get mad at a doctor who makes 5x my salary because he did all the right things it takes to get there.
I’m not mad at the owners, but if you’re asking me to choose a side I pick the players. The players produce the product I consume. They also have a career risked with injury and limited due to age. I’d rather them make the majority of the profits as opposed to the owner who has this cash cow for the rest of his life and many times puts in zero personal effort to running the team.
How many owners inherited their wealth?
How many players inherited their wealth?
I really don’t see teams giving up top prospects for him regardless of salary. I think his best return will be a couple of lottery tickets. By lottery tickets I mean high end prospects still in A ball..
I think J.T. Realmuto is a more valuable player than Justin Bour. However, Bour wins his case for $3.4M and Realmuto loses his case for $3.5M. MLB salaries make no sense to me.
looks as if MLBTR need to post an ‘arbitration primer series’ for everyone hear that clearly does not understand how the process works.
How the hell does Shelby miller win his case and JT doesn’t?