Los Angeles Angels: The trade that could land J.T. Realmuto

The Los Angeles Angels are in the market for a catcher this offseason and could make a run for the best catcher on the trade market, J.T. Realmuto.

The Los Angeles Angels are going to need to add a catcher this winter if the team really wants to contend for a postseason spot in the talented American League.

With a top-heavy league and the Houston Astros in the division, the Angels are going to need to take a risk in order to realistically contend. This is especially true considering that the team only has two more years to convince Mike Trout to become a lifetime Angel.

If the front office fails to bring in the proper pieces and the Angels miss the postseason in both years, it is understandable if Trout wanted to go to a contender. After all, the Angels have not made the postseason since 2014 and have not won a postseason game since 2009.

If the Angels are going to go out on a limb and make a move for a big name, I could see the front office making a move for J.T. Realmuto. While there are good options on the market in Yasmani Grandal and Wilson Ramos, Realmuto is better than both of them and would not require a big salary, as free agents do.

This is important to keep in mind as it would allow the Angels to still dip into the free agent pool. Los Angeles should focus on landing at least one of the big three pitchers on the market (Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel and J.A. Happ) and adding a cheap, talented catcher would help a ton.

The only problem is that he might be cheap contractually but he will not be cheap in a trade. Realmuto is a top-three catcher in the league and has a market full of team’s interested. Add that alongside his small contract and it is easy to see why Realmuto has so much trade value.

However, Realmuto is definitely not out of the Angels’ budget and the team could make a deal happen without giving up the top prospect, Jo Adell. Here is our ideal trade situation:

This is a four-prospect package that might seem like a lot but the Marlins are going to have a high asking price and this would be a fair offer.

The trade is headlined by the Angels’ second and third-best prospects, as far as MLB Pipeline is concerned, Griffin Canning and Brandon Marsh. Canning is a big league ready arm and the 72nd-ranked prospect while Brandon Marsh is a few years away and the 98th-ranked prospect in baseball.

Losing Canning might seem like a big blow but if the Angels are planning on adding arms in free agency then there won’t really be much room for Canning, anyway. And while Marsh is very promising, Adell is farther along and the Angels are deep in outfield prospects.

The team would also be dipping into a deep area of the farm system by trading shortstop Luis Rengifo. Rengifo has potential and could potentially be big league ready in 2019. With Kevin Maitan and Jahmai Jones ahead of him in terms of value, it makes sense to deal him.

Finally, the Angels top it off with another potential big league ready arm in Luis Pena. Pena is the organization’s 18th-ranked prospect and split time in double-a and triple-a last season. He is a strikeout pitcher with a nice sinker that could be a nice bullpen arm, at the worst, for the Marlins next season.

Overall, the Los Angeles Angels would be sending some talented guys but the team would be picking from areas that they could afford to lose. That makes this Realmuto trade worth it.