A Phillies-Rockies trade to replace JT Realmuto on the fly

Unfortunately for the first place Philadelphia Phillies, All-Star catcher JT Realmuto will undergo knee surgery to repair damage in his knee that has been there for quite a while. His timetable for a return is still in question, but the Phillies could see him return in about one or two months, if lucky.

Obviously, with any sort of complications, the Phillies could lose Realmuto for the year, but this isn't expected to be the case at this moment and barring unforeseen circumstances, he'll be back this year.

But Philadelphia still needs to get aggressive in the market to replace him, especially with the possibility that he doesn't make a full recovery this year.

The Rockies have the perfect guy for a deal here: Elias Diaz.

An emergency Phillies-Rockies trade to replace JT Realmuto

It's almost a guarantee that the Rockies will be trading catcher Elias Diaz before the trade deadline. The Rockies aren't competitive and Diaz is. Diaz is also on an expiring contract, making him the perfect candidate to be dealt.

Diaz, being on an expiring contract, may not be too expensive. Philadelphia may be desperate enough to overpay for him in order to make a trade happen sooner rather than later though. This has the potential to come together a few weeks ahead of the rest of the trade deadline drama.

The Phillies could acquire Diaz in exchange for two of their top 30 prospects, pitchers Griff McGarry and George Klassen.

McGarry, Philadelphia's 10th-ranked prospect, is a high ceiling, high risk kind of prospect. He has an electric arm with the pitch arsenal that would make pitching coaches drool. But, as many young pitchers do, he struggles with command. 2024 has been no different, walking nearly a batter per inning so far. But still, the potential is so high for McGarry that the Rockies would value him greatly.

Klassen, their 28th-ranked prospect, is bound to fly up prospect rankings here soon. His flaw, like McGarry's, is command but that seems to be in check so far in 2024. He's walked just 12 batters in 38 innings, pitching to the tune of a sub 1.00 ERA. He could be a true diamond in the rough prospect.

But the Phillies might not really care about the potential of these two prospects. Their system is loaded, especially with pitching. They can move on from these two electric arms if it means having an All-Star, .300 hitting catcher while Realmuto is out.