We had been anticipating this for more than a month, but Major League Baseball made the roster officially on Monday morning. Marlins manager Don Mattingly will lead a group of 29 elite MLB players for an exhibition series in Japan beginning next weekend. Stud catcher J.T. Realmuto is participating, too.
Hopefully, the past month of rest has revitalized J.T., whose production tailed off during the second half of the season. He nonetheless established himself as the best overall player at his position (.277/.340/.484, 126 wRC+, 4.8 fWAR).
As with any player who has yet to play pro ball in the United States, there are a variety of opinions about new Marlins acquisition Víctor Víctor Mesa.