three spots Robin Roberts Jersey , though."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Detroit Tigers AnalysisDetroit Tigers Prospect NotebookDetroit Tigers Game ThreadsDetroit Tigers NewsDetroit Tigers PodcastsCentral Intelligence: The Tigers help the Twins reach the topNew,1commentThere’s not much distance between the top three spots, though.EDTShareTweetShareShareCentral Intelligence: The Tigers help the Twins reach the topBruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY SportsMake no mistake: there are no runaway winners in the AL Central right now. Yes, the Twins are on top, but largely because they have not played as many games as the Indians or Tigers. No team in the AL Central has more than eight wins at the moment. While they are certainly not the worst division in the American League (that nod can go to the AL East, where only the Tampa Bay Rays seem interested in a winning season, presently), things don’t look great in the Central. Minnesota Twins (8-4)The Twins had a remarkably light week this past week, playing only four games total. Frst they split their series against the visiting New York Mets, before they welcomed the Tigers into town for what was meant to be a three-game series. Mother Nature had other plans in mind — as she often does in spring — and the Friday game was preemptively cancelled due to impending snow (insert “get a dome!” calls here).The Twins “swept” the abbreviated two-game series.This coming week will see the Blue Jays come to down for three games, followed by a visit to Baltimore to play the Orioles for three games. The Jays have struggled on the road significantly this year so far, with a 1-5 record, and the Twins have done almost as well at home, winning 4-1. The Orioles, on the other hand have struggled at home Tug McGraw Jersey , with a 1-6 record, meaning the Twins might be in for a very good week ahead. Up Next: vs Blue Jays (3 games); @ Orioles (3 games)Cleveland Indians (8-7)For a team that seemed poised to easily take the division, the Indians have struggled early against their AL competition. This past week they faced the Tigers and won the series two games to one, but then they headed to Kansas City where they were swept by the Royals in a three-game series, including one shutout game. The week ahead won’t offer much kindness. First it’ll be a trip to the west coast to face off against the Mariners who have no intention of yielding their first place position in the AL West. The Mariners are 5-4 at home right now, but the advantage is still theirs with the Indians an uninspiring 3-6 on the road. Then they’ll return home to play host to the Atlanta Braves for a three-game weekend series. The Braves are 7-3 over their last 10 games, but they have faltered a little on the road this season, with a 2-3 record. The Indians could take advantage of that. Up Next: @ Mariners (3 games); vs Braves (3 games)Detroit Tigers (8-7)The week’s AL Central heavy schedule didn’t do the Tigers many favors this week. They dropped two series in a row, the first losing two of three to the Indians, and then heading to Minneapolis, where the series was shortened by snow and then the Twins won the remaining two games. They’ll have a busy week ahead facing their interleague rivals the Pittsburgh Pirates for a two-game series. The Pirates are on a winning streak, going 7-3 in their last 10 games, but they’re 4-4 on the road, so the Tigers might have some luck there. As for the weekend, the Tigers will face the White Sox in a four-game series at home. The White Sox aren’t doing terribly Drew Hutchison Jersey , but also not awesome, pretty much on-par stats wise with the Tigers over the last stretch of games, so it’ll be an opportunity for one of the two clubs to potentially push ahead in the standings. Up Next: vs Pirates (2 games); vs White Sox (4 games)Chicago White Sox (5-9)Speaking of the White Sox, they had a mixed bag of luck against the AL East last week. First they hosted the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game series, and were handily swept by the division leaders. Then they visited the Yankees, who were expected to be the division leaders. Not so much. The White Sox won that series two games to one. This coming week is all about the Central for them as well (sensing a trend here). First they’ll see the Royals come to town for a three-game set. The Royals have yet to win a single game on the road, so the Sox could be in luck there. Then they’ll head to Detroit for the aforementioned four-game series this weekend.Up Next: vs Royals (3 games); @ Tigers (4 games)Kansas City Royals (5-10)If the Mariners recent visit to Kansas City is any indication of what the Indians can expect this week... well... it’s bad. The Mariners swept the Royals in a four-game series and were not particularly subtle about it, starting the week off with a 13-5 victory.The Royals were then swept a second time in a three-game series against the Indians. This coming week they’d probably just like to win a game.They’ll need to do it either against the White Sox, or when they head to New York to play a four-game series against the Yankees. The Yankees are actually only 3-6 at home right now, so although the Royals haven’t won an away game yet, they might have some luck against the Yankees. Up Next: @ White Sox (3 games); @ Yankees (4 games) The Marlins could be trading J.T. Realmuto this offseason and the Dodgers need a catcher, with the likely departure of Yasmani Grandal. Realmuto would be a fine replacement."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections 2019 Spring TrainingProspectsCommentaryNews and NotesDodgers RumorsCommentaryLet’s talk about the Dodgers and J.T. RealmutoNew,319commentsMarlins’ catcher would fit in well with the Dodgersgoing to focus on one player: J.T. Realmuto.The one Marlin who wasn’t traded last offseason might end up bringing Miami its best trade return this offseason. He’s the best catcher in baseball and is available.Jim Bowden of The Athletic wrote about Realmuto and what it might take to get him out of Miami. He identified the Dodgers and proposed Alex Verdugo and Dustin May for Realmuto. If that sounds a bit light, it probably is. That, despite what Miami-based radio host Craig Mish tweeted on Wednesday.Still Larry Bowa Jersey , a 2-for-1 seems highly unlikely, unless one of the two is a legitimate global Top 10 prospect, which neither Verdugo or May are. As a side note, the best prospect proposed by Bowden is Victor Robles, and that ends up being a 1-for-1 swap. That seems even more unlikely than any of the 2-for-1s.Maybe a Dodger proposal begins with Keibert Ruiz instead of Verdugo, but May is almost assuredly going to be included as he’s organization’s top pitching prospect in terms of youth and ceiling. It’d probably take a third solid piece — someone in the 8-15 range of the org rankings. But if a package of Verdugo and May would be enough to obtain the final two years of control of Realmuto, then Andrew Friedman should charter a plane for Realmuto’s arrival to Los Angeles.But why is everyone so gaga for J.T.? Well, he’s really, really good. And with offense from behind the plate being at one of the lowest points in the last 50 years, the fact Realmuto and his 126 wRC+ in 2018 is available means he should be coveted.He set a career-high in home runs (21) in 2018, which also led to a career-best mark in isolated power (.208). He also established a new career-best walk rate (7.2 percent), line drive rate (22.8 percent), fly ball rate (37.4 percent) and a career-low in ground ball rate (39.8 percent).He’s also fast. Not just fast for a catcher, but fast. He had the 83rd-best sprint speed (of 549 ranked players) in 2018 of 28.6 feet per second. Among catchers, he was the best. If you thought Barnes was fast (27.4 ft/sec) Jim Bunning Jersey , Realmuto is faster. He’s Andrew Toles/Yasiel Puig fast, which is really saying something. This is a rare talent for catchers these days.So, he’s a premium-hitting catcher who can run. That’s good enough for most. But he’s also a solid, agile defender behind the plate. He’s a Top-20 blocker and thrower, according to Baseball Prospectus. Where he lacks a bit is framing, which is a hallmark for Dodger catchers. Having Yasmani Grandal and Austin Barnes — two of the game’s best — it’s hard to give that up, but Realmuto can make up for that with his offense.What might be most attractive about the 27-year-old is the fact the acquiring team might be getting his two best years before free agency. That is, if his offense keeps trending in the right direction.Realmuto has two more years of team control before he hits the open market. For a contending team — like the Dodgers — he could be the perfect fit. While the future of the position is likely with Ruiz and Will Smith, it’s highly unlikely both will be ready for full-time duty next season. It’s even a stretch to say both will be ready by 2020. If Realmuto is in town for two seasons, that gives Ruiz extra time to develop and improve on the things he needs to and would allow Smith to ease into a role as a backup catcher.The acquisition cost shouldn’t be prohibitive, but the competition for Realmuto this winter promises to be stiff. There are many teams that would love to add the game’s best catcher for a couple years. He fits on almost any team, but if Grandal doesn’t return, there may not be a better fit for his services than the Dodgers.