The Milwaukee Brewers tried to trade for Mookie Betts long before he became a star.

Then Milwaukee's general manager, Doug Melvin attempted to pry Betts away from the Boston Red Sox in 2013. Betts was just 20 at the time and in the middle of a breakout season in Class A ball.

Melvin offered up reliever Francisco Rodriguez in the deal.

"Doug Melvin was the first to ask, so I always give Doug credit," said Ben Cherington, the Pittsburgh Pirates' general manager who held the same role in Boston from 2011-15. "He was the first one to ask for him."

By the end of that deal, Betts was a bona fide prospect -- and rival executives never stopped asking for him.

"In every deal," Cherington said. "Every deal, his name was the first one. It was a non-starter for us."

J.T. Realmuto is a few weeks away from free agency a year after the Philadelphia Phillies completed a trade with the Miami Marlins for the catcher.

The Phillies traded Sixto Sanchez to the Marlins as part of the deal. The rookie right-hander helped lead Miami to the playoffs this season.

Owner John Middleton said Saturday that he was unhappy with the trade at the time. It was made by Matt Klentak, who stepped down as general manager.

"At the time it was being considered, my position was, I'd be willing to trade Sixto as long as you extend J.T. And if you don't extend J.T., I wouldn't trade Sixto," Middleton said. "Because we weren't at a point in the development of the team where the benefits that we were getting matched what we were giving up."

The Phillies have failed to extend Realmuto since acquiring him ahead of the 2019 campaign.