The Phillies and Marlins completed the long rumored trade for J.T. Realmuto:

The Phillies and Marlins have reached a trade that sends All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto to Philadelphia for catcher Jorge Alfaro, pitching prospects Sixto Sanchez and Will Stewart, and an international bonus slot, the teams announced Thursday.

After months of negotiations with a half-dozen teams for the 27-year-old Realmuto, the Marlins finally dealt him to Philadelphia, which remains a likely destination for one of the two biggest free agents left on the market: Bryce Harper or Manny Machado.

ESPN.com

Stewart had a break-out season in 2018, lowering his walk rate from 3.7 per 9 IP in 2017 to 1.7 per 9 IP last year. Like Sanchez, Stewart keeps the ball in the park. Both have good, but not great strikeout rates. Both are very young and have plenty of time to develop. The review of the Marlins previous off-season was that they didn’t get enough talent in their trades. They seem to have gotten plenty here.

The Phillies control Realmuto for two seasons, at which time they can let him go and allow another team to pay for his decline. The Phillies are trying to win now, however, and it looks like the NL East will be a strong division this season.