Manny Machado has already been moved from the Baltimo

re Orioles to the Los Angeles Dodgers Tony Perez Jersey , but the trade market hasn't yet lost its best position player.I'm looking at you, J.T. Realmuto.Although they're far out of the National League East race in the first year of their rebuild, the Miami Marlins aren't obligated to trade their All-Star catcher. Realmuto is only 27 and pulling in just a $2.9 million salary, and free agency won't beckon him until after 2020."Any deal, unless it's something that's in the best interest of the Miami Marlins and our long-term goals of bringing a championship to South Florida, we're not going to do anything rash, nothing emotional," Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said, per Matthew DeFranks of theSun-Sentinel."We know where we're at. We know where we want to go."Even Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, who needs to upgrade at catcher more than anyone, publicly declared his intimidation by Realmuto's price tag in June:MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM MLBNetworkRadioPump the brakes on a #Marlins #Nationals JT Realmuto trade.#OnePursuit President Mike Rizzo on quot;Power Alleyquot;: ZgOCs5KzSOAs high as Miami's demands may be, however, a trade could happen for one simple reason: He's worth it.For starters, consider Realmuto's Baseball Reference wins above replacementin relation to Machado in 2018:Realmuto:3.7 WAR in 74 GMachado:3.1 WAR in 101 GRealmuto has played in 27 fewer games, in part due to paternity leave and a bone bruise in his back that required a disabled-list stint. Yet, he's still been more valuable than Machado.The idea here isn't to start a Machado bash-fest. He's a four-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glover who was pretty good even in a "down" year in 2017. And despite his less-than-great defensive ratings, his elite bat has made him one of Major League Baseball's best shortstops this year.It's just that in this case, he's up against a guy who's become the best player at the most important position on the diamond.Mitchell Layton/Getty ImagesRealmuto's offensive performance had already been on a steady upward climb through his first four major league seasons. In 2018, his bat has officially become a weapon to the tune of a .304/.355/.529 slash line and 37 extra-base hits, including 13 home runs.Realmuto hit .290 with a .337 on-base percentage across 2016 and 2017, so what he's doing in those departments is nothing new. It's his slugging percentage that's changed the most, and not by accident.The best recipe for power hitting is to start by swinging at good pitches and then aim to get under the ball and hit it hard. Realmuto is handling the first part by swinging more aggressively within the strike zone. He's also handling the second part, as his average launch angle and exit velocity are up:Since Marlins Park doesn't do Realmuto any favors http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-cliff-pennington-jersey , his offensive excellence is captured best by his 146 OPS+. He's the only catcher with an OPS+ north of 140 this year, and the firstto cross the threshold since Buster Posey and Devin Mesoraco in 2014.It gets better, as elite hitting is just one of the services Realmuto provides.Another is running the bases, and the emphasis is on "run." His average sprint is 28.6 feet per second, which is the highest of any catcher.Yet another is controlling the running game. Realmuto has nabbed 41 percent of attempted stolen bases. At work, there is an average pop time (the time between when the catcher receives the ball and when his throw reaches an infielder) of 1.88 seconds. That, also, is the fastest of any catcher.For all his athletic gifts, Realmuto's defense wasn't without flaws earlier in his career. Per Baseball Prospectus' in-depth catching metrics, he struggled with blocking and framing pitches in 2015 and 2016.Those flaws have all but evaporated in 2017 and thus far in 2018. Indeed, his framing might be better than ever. He's getting called strikes at career-best rates both inside the strike zone (87.1 percent) and outside the strike zone (8.5 percent).In all, Realmuto has become baseball's best catcher because he can do no wrong in any facet of the game. He's a far better hitter than anyone at the position, as well as the best baserunner and arguably the most well-rounded defender.Since creatures like this are exceedingly rare, it's not surprising there's no truly relevant precedent for what kind of package might be good enough to acquire Realmuto.The only thing to go off of is what's been reported. To this end, Jon Heyman of Fancred reported in January that a trade with the Nationals would have to start with Victor Robles, who presently rates asBaseball America's No. 6 overall prospect.This was before Realmuto's value skyrocketed, so it's fair to assume the Marlins won't budge unless somebody offers them multiple elite prospects. Otherwise, they'll hold on to their biggest prize.Still, never say never. All it takes is one enterprising GM with a treasure trove of prospects and a vision for his team with the best catcher in baseball behind the plate.And then, maybe just a phone call. Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs, Baseball Savant and Baseball Prospectus. NEW YORK (AP) — Power pitching, that’s what the New York Mets hope to get from Zack Wheeler.But power hitting?Wheeler connected for his first major league home run and struck out 11 in seven sharp innings as the Mets handed the Philadelphia Phillies their fifth loss in six games David Ross Jersey , 9-0 on Tuesday night.“Pitching’s obviously first, but we work a lot on our hitting and we take pride in it,” Wheeler said.“We want to go up there and do well as a staff and not give them an easy out. Luckily, I wasn’t an easy out tonight,” he said.For the Phillies, it was another quiet day. Until two outs in the ninth, that is.That’s when Mets reliever Jacob Rhame sailed two fastballs over Rhys Hoskins’ head. The benches started to clear after the first time, and Hoskins angrily slung his bat after the next one, which was ball four.“I understand baseball. They got hit a couple times yesterday,” Hoskins said.But that didn’t make it any easier to accept, not after high heat buzzed his helmet. Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud “just said they were trying to go inside and I laughed,” the Philadelphia cleanup man said.No doubt, it could make for tense times in the series finale Wednesday night.Before the late shenanigans, it was the Wheeler show.Wheeler also doubled and drove in three runs and Todd Frazier connected for a grand slam that made it 8-0 in the fifth.“I was like, God, he makes it look easy and I’m trying to get an extra-base hit or get on base,” Frazier said. “It was nice to have him supply the RBIs, give himself a little breathing room and I came in at the end.”Wheeler (2-2) became the majors’ first 100-100 player this season — he hit and pitched a ball at least 100 mph, according to Statcast.“First pitcher ever to do that,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. “That put him over the top, it seems like. And that’s a real stat, by the way, I’m not making that up. He did everything right.”Wheeler did it in his 100th career start http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-david-ross-jersey , too. He fanned seven straight in the early innings, and gave himself a cushion at the plate.A career .129 hitter, Wheeler lined a two-run double in the second off Zach Eflin (2-3). The next time up, Wheeler did even better, launching a drive over the wall in left-center.Wheeler kept up a surprising longball show by Mets pitchers. Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom also have gone deep this year, making the Mets the first NL team in more than 110 years to have three pitchers homer in the first 25 games of a season.Frazier broke open the game with his fifth career slam, tagging Drew Anderson. Frazier made his season debut Monday after being slowed by a strained left oblique.Bryce Harper and the Phillies have totaled just two runs while losing three in a row, and were shut out for the first time season. They went down quietly Monday when their last 16 batters were retired, and manager Gabe Kapler said before this game that he wanted to see whether his team would respond with any energy.They didn’t, at least until two outs in the ninth. The closest the Phillies came to scoring was in the fourth when Maikel Franco was thrown out at the plate by left fielder Jeff McNeil on Cesar Hernandez’s single.“Very frustrating,” Kapler said, adding, “It wasn’t good effort.”Hernandez also let an easy grounder roll through his legs with two outs in the second, allowing Wheeler to score from second.Mets relievers Luis Avilan and Rhame finished off the five-hitter.WHEELING ALONGWheeler improved to 35-32 lifetime. He struck out nine of the first 13 batters.QUIET HARPERHarper was hitless in three at-bats, striking out twice before leaving for a substitute. The Phillies star had an uneventful night, a day after his wild rant at an umpire that has Major League Baseball looking at whether he should be penalized.“Hope not. We’ll see,” Harper said.TRAINER’S ROOMPhillies: RHP Victor Arano (elbow inflammation) might be a couple weeks from throwing, Kapler said.Mets: CF Brandon Nimmo exited after three innings because of a left oblique twinge. … SS Amed Rosario didn’t start for the second straight day because of flulike symptoms.UP NEXTPhillies: RHP Vince Velasquez (0-0, 2.55 ERA) hasn’t given up more than two earned runs in any of this three starts this season.Mets: LHP Jason Vargas (1-0, 9.58) pitches while speculation swirls that Gio Gonzalez might be signed to take his spot in the rotation.