MLB Trade Rumors: The Next Player the Miami Marlins Deal Could Be J.T. Realmuto
Realmuto has turned into one of the better catchers in the Majors over the past few seasons
The Miami Marlins have already traded away some of their best players this offseason, and there is a chance that they may not be done making deals just yet.
With the team now lacking starting second baseman Dee Gordon and outfielders Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna, it seems that the players who are still on the roster now want out too.
According to a recent tweet from Craig Mish of SiriusXM, catcher J.T. Realmuto has requested to be traded.
Realmuto may not be as well-known as his already-traded teammates, but if the Marlins do decide to put him on the trading block, there is a good chance that they can receive a good package of prospects in return for the 26-year-old.
The current Marlin is coming off arguably the best season of his career. As seen in Baseball Reference, Realmuto put up a 278/332/451 slashline for the 2017 season. Those numbers would be solid for any position player, and they become even more impressive since Realmuto is primarily a catcher.
On top of that, Realmuto is arbitration-eligible for three more seasons, including 2018, and this means he is affordable even for teams that already have loaded rosters.
It is hard to find catchers like Realmuto, and it would not be at all surprising if numerous teams send the Marlins trade proposals if he is ever made available via trade.
So, are the Marlins going to listen to Realmuto's reported request and make an attempt to trade him?
It makes sense for them to do so, since the prospects they can get back in exchange for Realmuto will likely factor more significantly into the future of franchise than the catcher himself.
For now, Realmuto is one of the better players still with the Marlins. But sometime soon, he may follow Gordon, Stanton and Ozuna out the door.
More news about the latest MLB trade rumors should be made available soon.