Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is now reporting that the New York Mets and Miami Marlins continue to discuss a trade involving catcher J.T. Realmuto.
In fact, Rosenthal says that the Mets and Marlins talked on Tuesday regarding the possibility.
The Marlins would want a young major league asset at the centerpiece, Rosenthal points out that Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto and Amed Rosario would all fit that description.
Finally, Rosenthal notes that the Mets are being aggressive in their pursuit of Realmuto.
Of course, trading any of Nimmo, Conforto or Rosario would open up a significant hole at the major league level.
Original Post – Dec. 4, 11:04 a.m.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the New York Mets aren’t ruling out their pursuit of Miami Marlins All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto.
It was recently reported that the Mets and Giants both have interest in Realmuto, while the Marlins continue to ask for one of Mets’ outfielders Michael Conforto or Brandon Nimmo.
Rosenthal says “The Mets have not given up in their quest to acquire Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto – who, like Canó, is represented by general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s former agency, CAA (Roc Nation shares in the representation of Canó).”
Realmuto, 27, made his first All-Star team in 2018 (his fifth MLB season), hitting .277/.340/.484 in 125 games (531 plate appearances) with 21 home runs, 74 runs batted in, a 131 OPS+ rating, .353 wOBA, and 126 wRC+. He is under contract for two more seasons.
He then added “A trade for Realmuto, however, would appear highly unlikely, given the depletion of the Mets’ already-thin system after the trades of Kelenic and Dunn. The same goes for a trade for Indians right-hander Corey Kluber, unless the Mets acquired youngsters for right-hander Noah Syndergaard, then flipped some of those players along with some of their own to the Indians.”
As for Kluber, Rosenthal added that “The Mets conceivably could build a package for Kluber around one of their young outfielders, Michael Conforto or Brandon Nimmo. But such a move would be counterproductive with Yoenis Céspedes out until the second half after undergoing surgeries on both heels.”
Lastly, on the Syndergaard trade front, Ken said “the Mets’ talks with the Padres over Syndergaard have cooled, at least for the moment.”
The Padres have insisted on not including top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. in any deal.
