LAS VEGAS — I am here to answer perhaps the biggest question of the winter meetings. No, not where are Bryce Harper and Manny Machado going?
But why are so many teams — including the Mets — so zealous to get J.T. Realmuto? After all, if you look at his batting average or RBIs, you see a good player, but not a great one. So let’s try to delve into why so many see a player they would do so much to get, and why the Marlins are asking so much in return:
1. In modern baseball, teams try to determine if they are getting surplus value or negative value in a player.