Marlins rumored to have “soured” on Sixto Sánchez after Phillies trade

Will Sixto Sánchez pitch in 2022?

Salary dumps aside, it’s hard to definitively conclude which team wins a trade until it’s over. Only when the stipulations of the deal are complete, be it in the form of a contract ending, another trade, or retirement, can we really ascertain which side got the better end of it.

However, in the case of the Philadelphia Phillies–Miami Marlins trade that brought J.T. Realmuto to Philly, it’s looking like the Marlins got the short end of the stick, as former Phillies top prospect and centerpiece of the trade return, Sixto Sánchez, is injured again.

And according to MLB insider and Marlins expert Craig Mish, the issue goes deeper than injury:

"“He’s hurt again. We can start there. It’s not the best scenario with him, but it just comes down to when you trust people that tell you things and they tell you things about the player, overwhelmingly in my history of doing this …I definitely can identify when an organization is extremely sour on a player and this is that player. Is it impossible that he can come back in 2023 or this year at some point? I don’t know. But I am not optimistic. I am sorry. I am just not optimistic. And a lot of it probably has to do with the player too.I think that the Marlins have done all they can. Really. I’ve said this before, I don’t hold the Marlins accountable. Should I hold the Marlins accountable for making that trade? Maybe. There were some red flags there when they made that trade. I’m sorry, man. I’m just not seeing it.It’s not like I’m getting people telling me that I’m wrong. I’m getting people that are giving me examples of guys who are just left for you know what and then came back five years later and all of a sudden were like “Oh they’re good again.” I think that’s what you have to hope. I think you have to hope that eventually, he’s pitching and pitching for the Marlins.If spring training was to start today and I had to guess, I would say that Sixto would not be throwing a pitch for a while again. And I don’t know exactly what’s going on or what’s wrong or exactly, but there is something going on again with him.”Transcribed by Phillies Nation"

Sánchez already missed the entire 2021 season due to shoulder injury and surgery, making Mish’s report even bleaker. This week, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported that Sánchez could return midseason, though the lockout could impede that timeline, as well.

Did the Philadelphia Phillies win the J.T. Realmuto trade?

In February 2019, the Phillies traded Sánchez, Jorge Alfaro, Will Stewart, and some international bonus slot money to the Marlins for Realmuto.

Realmuto was coming off his first All-Star and Silver Slugger season, while Sánchez had been the Phillies’ number-one prospect coming into 2018, and one of the top-ranked prospects in all of Major League Baseball.

However, the trade was a risk for the Marlins from the jump. Sánchez’s 2018 season had ended in early June when the Phillies placed him on the Injured List with elbow inflammation. His recovery from that injury took so much longer than expected that he missed that year’s Arizona Fall League. To borrow a term from Mish, that should’ve been a red flag for the Marlins.

Sánchez pitched in the Marlins farm system in 2019, while Realmuto built upon his 2018 success with a stellar debut season for the Phillies. He was an All-Star and Silver Slugger for the second time in as many years, and set new career-highs in games played, hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, and runs scored. He also won his first Gold Glove award behind the dish. In short, he was an instant success.

Sánchez made his big-league debut with the Marlins on August 22, 2020. Over seven starts and 39 regular-season innings, he posted a 3.46 ERA. One of those starts was technically a complete game against the Phillies, though it was only seven innings, as part of a doubleheader.

In an ironic twist, Sánchez reached the postseason as a rookie, while Realmuto has the second-most games played without a postseason appearance among all active players.

However, Realmuto is now signed to a lucrative long-term deal with the Phillies, which has to sting for the Marlins; in 2019, Matt Gelb reported that the catcher had not been open to extension talks with his former team. And on their side of the trade, the Marlins are reportedly sour on Sánchez. They’ve also dealt Alfaro to the San Diego Padres, and Stewart, who spent the season in Double-A, is still far from big-league material.

There’s still plenty of time for Sánchez to rebound if the Marlins are patient enough to wait it out. But for now, the Phillies look like they’re in the win column on this deal.