The Marlins visited Deng Gak Jersey St. Louis for a series against the Cardinals last summer, and before one of the games I talked with Miami manager Don Mattingly about his catcher, J.T. Realmuto.

His eyes perked up.

Just seeing his athleticism is special, puts him at that category of the catcher thats a little bit more the newer catcher, athletic, can run, can pretty much do everything, Mattingly said. Hes an interesting guy back there. I think hes a guy that baseball, in general, will get to know better over time. I think he definitely should have been in consideration (for the All-Star Game), but when youve got Posey and Molina

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Mattingly finished with a rather prophetic line. If he was out there and available, there would be a ton of teams calling about J.T.

Gue s what? J.T. is out there and available. At least, thats his hope. The Marlins have already traded away Giancarlo Stanton, Marcel Ozuna and Dee Gordon this offseason, and .

Why does that matter, you might ask. Heres why it matters: J.T. Realmuto just might be the most underrated catcher in baseball. Not underrated by baseball insiders or hardcore fans, of course, but by the casual baseball fan whose knowledge of the Marlins was limited to Stanton and a shiny home-run structure.

But dont just take my word for it.

Oh, hes ridiculously underrated, veteran catcher A.J. Ellis, who was Realmutos backup in Miami last season, told me during that Cardinals series. I get to see this guy first-hand every day, and the first thing that stands out to me is his athleticism. I havent seen an as-athletic catcher as him since Ru sell Martin first broke in, when I played with him with the Dodgers. Its just his ability to move, his ability to throw, his ability to use his athleticism to cover up any mistakes that might be in his game. Its a unique talent behind the plate. Its like having a shortstop or center fielder playing catcher.

But dont just take Ellis Ray Lewis Jersey word for it. Heres a way of quantifying that athleticism.

JT Realmuto is baseball's most athletic catcher on both sides of the ball, and it's not even really close:

Realmuto has been Miamis primary catcher for the past three seasons. Hes averaged 135 games a season, with a .281/.323/.430 slash line. In 2017, he popped 17 homers and had 65 RBIs and posted a 3.6 WAR, by both Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs formulas. He even has 28 stolen bases over the past three seasons.Realmuto is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, and hes not scheduled to become a free agent until after the 2020 season. Oh, and he doesnt turn 27 until next spring. So, yeah, you can imagine the suitors will be lining up, should the Marlins decide to grant his trade request this offseason, for three prime years of Realmuto.

Hes just an amazing talent, and more than that hes an amazing kid and amazing teammate, Ellis said. Hes a guy who comes to the field every day with an expectation that the Marlins are going to win Reggie Wayne Jersey the game. Thats something I respect. I also respect the fact that he wants to play every single day. Thats one thing I admire in a catcher, durability, and hes extremely durable. Hes the same guy day in and day out, offense and defense. He gives you a quality game every time he goes out there.

Realmuto is in line to get a salary of around $4 Chris Lykes Jersey million in arbitration for 2018 (based on ), and if he stays healthyhe should see solid jumps in compensation for 2019 and 2020. But make no mistake: If the Marlins decide to trade Realmuto now, their primary goal will be to bring back prospects. This isnt trading the ma sive salary of Stanton or even the dumping of Gordons salary. This would have to be about restocking the farm system.

So whichteams might be interested? Lets take a look.

Astros: Yes, the World Series champs have both Brian McCann and Evan Gattis under contract for 2018. But Gattis is a free agent after next season, and McCann has a $15 million option for 2019 that isnt nece sarily appetizing (hell be 35 that year). Adding Realmuto would provide longer-term stability behind the plate and allow McCann to spend most of his time at DH. Theyd have to trade Gattis, but that wouldnt be too tough.

Diamondbacks: Dont blame Arizona fans for salivating about the idea of Realmuto wearing a D-backsuniform for the next couple of seasons. At the moment, next seasons catching tandem is Jeff Mathis who turns 35 this spring and hit .215 in 2017 and Chad Hermann who hit .181 in 106 games last season. Realmuto would be a ma sive upgrade for a team that will definitely be a playoff contender in 2018. The Diamondbacks need to do everything po sible to make this happen.

Nationals: Its not that the tandem of Matt Wieters and Pedro Severino is unacceptable for the Nationals in 2018. Its just that Realmuto would be a pretty big upgrade, and this is a franchise playing next season with a sense of urgency, what with Bryce Dejan Vasiljevic Jersey Harper almost certainly leaving as a free agent after 2018. And having Realmuto for the first couple of post-Harper years would help ensure that the Nats remain relevant in World Series conversations.

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Red Sox: Heres a truth: If J.T. played for Boston the past three years, we wouldnt have to put the word underrated in any headline about Realmuto. Boston fans would love him (though thats true for pretty much any fan base), and he would be an upgrade at the position. Heres the thing, though: Catcher isnt Bostons primary concern this offseason. The Sox have Christian Vasquez (who hit .290 with a .735 OPS in 99 games last year) and Sandy Leon (who hit .310 with an .855 OPS in 2016 before regre sing in 2017) both under club control for the next three years, so its not like they have to do something behind the plate.

Angels: This has already been a banner offseason for Brad Kaaya Jersey Angels fans, with the additions of Shohei Ohtani, Ian Kinsler and Zack Cozart, and Realmuto would be an excellent capper to a flurry of moves. At the moment, their catching situation looks like some combination of Martin Maldonado (.645 OPS, 14 homers in 2017), Juan Graterol (.202 average) and Carlos Perez (.100 average). The biggest problem here would be finding an acceptable package to send to the Marlins; the Angels system is pretty much barren, and the only reason they were able to land Kinsler is because Kinsler had no-trade power, which severely limited Detroits leverage and drove down the prospect price. This is a long shot.

Mets: Realmuto would be