Phillies’ minor-league pitching depth made deal for J.T. Realmuto possible | Bob Brookover

Hardcore Phillies fans know what their team just did and it probably makes them cringe just a little. They know it’s possible that by the end of this season and certainly by the start of next year that Sixto Sanchez could be standing on the mound at Citizens Bank Park in a Miami Marlins uniform.

They know that one day the scoreboards that post the miles per hour will tell the home crowd that the visiting pitcher is reaching the high 90s and possibly even triple digits with his fastball. They know that the Marlins may have just landed their future ace, a guy capable of doing the same sorts of things as the late Jose Fernandez.

Phillies general manager Matt Klentak knows it, too.

“It was tough to trade Sixto Sanchez,” he said late Thursday afternoon, a few hours after completing the trade that sent the Phillies’ top prospect to the Marlins for all-star catcher J.T. Realmuto. “And it was tough to trade Will Stewart, too.”

The deal also included international pool money and Jorge Alfaro, the Phillies’ raw but powerfully built catcher with one of the strongest throwing arms in the game. The Phillies, of course, were thrilled to acquire Realmuto as Alfaro’s replacement and they should be.

Realmuto, who will turn 28 next month, is just two years and 85 days older than Alfaro. He is also an all-star who led all catchers in baseball with an .825 OPS last season. He finished second behind San Francisco’s Buster Posey in the MLB Network’s Top Ten Right Now at the catching position.

“I think J.T. Realmuto is the best catcher in baseball, so I think the upgrade is pretty significant,” Klentak said. “It’s hard to acquire top players at any position and especially at the catcher position. We knew that if we were going to access J.T. that we were going to have to give up some talent in return.

“We do like Jorge a lot and we think he has a bright career ahead of him. We think he’s a great kid and a hard worker and it’s tough to see him go, but this is about us getting better and acquiring the best catcher in baseball and we’re really excited about that.”

It’s possible that Alfaro will one day pass Realmuto and emerge as the best catcher in baseball, but based on what we know right now that seems highly unlikely. For 2019 and 2020 and for the purpose of making themselves even more attractive to the perpetually dangling free-agent duo of Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, the acquisition of Realmuto was a brilliant one.

He is a catcher who is also a superb athlete, a three-sport high school star in Oklahoma who had offers to play quarterback at the Division I level. After three years of trying to build the Phillies into a contender, Klentak believes he finally has the team in that position. Add Machado or Harper and there should be a buzz about opening day and the 2019 season.

“I think we’ve improved pretty significantly,” Klentak said. “Not only with this move, but some of the other moves we’ve made this offseason. Having said that, the teams in our division have also gotten better which is pretty well known.”

The risk — surrendering Sanchez and Stewart — was worth it. As talented as Sanchez appears, he has never pitched a game above the high-A level. And even then he was limited to a total of eight games last season because of elbow inflammation. Stewart, 21, was a 20th-round pick in 2015 and had a 4.24 career ERA in his first three seasons before becoming one of the stars in a loaded rotation at low-A Lakewood last season.

“Sixto Sanchez was signed for $35,000,” Klentak said. “Will Stewart was a 20th-round draft pick. That is good scouting. Because of our scouting department, we are in a position to acquire the best catcher in baseball.”

What’s even better for the Phillies is that they still have a farm system loaded with quality arms. One scout with a vast knowledge of the Phillies’ system believes Spencer Howard, a 22-year-old right-hander, might be comparable to Sanchez in talent. Adonis Medina, 22, JoJo Romero, 22, Enyel De Los Santos, 23, Ranger Suarez, 23, and Francisco Morales, 19, are also among the top 10 prospects in the system, according to Baseball America. If only two of the six pan out the Phillies will be fine.

Klentak did well not to give up his top position-player prospects because the Phillies’ minor-league system is weaker in that regard. The Marlins had reportedly tried to pry third baseman Alec Bohm and shortstop Luis Garcia away from Klentak, but the general manager got “the best catcher in baseball” without giving up those two.

“I am very comfortable with the state of our pitching depth in our system right now even after trading Sixto and Stewart,” Klentak said. “ But it’s something we are going to continue to focus on in future years, making sure we draft and sign and develop starting pitching depth so we continue to have opportunities to either promote those players to the big leagues or trade them in instances like this.”