Who will save the day for each MLB team?

Miami Marlins: J.T. Realmuto

One of the biggest stories of the offseason has been the Miami Marlins’ epic tear-down, spearheaded by new franchise co-owner Derek Jeter. In an effort to clear massive chunks of salary and start rebuilding, the team traded away power-hitting sensation Giancarlo Stanton as well as budding young stars Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna.

These moves were met with a degree of controversy, as many see this as a major disservice to the fans of Miami. Indeed, the Marlins could very easily lose over 100 games with the core they’ve got.

And they may not be done dealing players. Following their fire sale, the team still has two reliable hitters left in their lineup in Justin Bour and J.T. Realmuto. There’s a very real possibility the team trades one or both of them at some point during the season.

Realmuto, 26, was quietly one of the best catchers in the league last year. He slashed .278/.332/.451 while hitting a career-high 17 home runs to go along with 65 RBI. Additionally, he stole eight bases for the fish. You don’t see that from the catcher position very often.

The young backstop is probably Miami’s most valuable asset at the moment. But with the powerful lineup they had in 2017 now completely dismantled, he won’t have many legitimate threats hitting around him. So he could be in store for drop-off in production this season.

He’s one of the few good players Miami has left, but he could soon find his way out the door, too. He’ll either be important for team morale or fetching Jeter more farm talent. Whatever the case may be, there’s not a lot of room for optimism in the near future for Miami.