Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in just over a week, and trade rumors continue to fly around Miami Marlins backstop J.T. Realmuto.
A gaggle of teams have shown interest in the veteran catcher throughout the offseason as Miami has held out for the right offer.
And it appears that one National League team has re-entered talks with the Marlins to acquire Realmuto, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown.
https://twitter.com/TBrownYahoo/status/1092872562886017024
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman confirmed Brown’s report that the Phillies have checked in on the right-handed-hitting catcher, but noted that the Marlins might prefer to trade Realmuto outside of the National League East. Several other teams also remain in the mix.
Marlins like phillies prospects (and they have a young catcher Jorge Alfaro) in Realmuto talks, but hearing many teams are still in, including dodgers, padres, reds, braves and rays. @Ken_Rosenthal and @TBrownYahoo reported phils are back in mix
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 5, 2019
Phillies have made progress in Realmuto talks, as @TBrownYahoo said. But there’s no word anything’s agreed to, and others (reds, dodgers, padres, rays, braves) remain in mix. Mia prefers to trade out of division but philly has good pieces (sixto, Medina, Romero, Alfaro, etc.)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 5, 2019
Jorge Alfaro, 25, batted .262 with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs while appearing in 108 games for the Phillies last season. It’s also worth noting that Philadelphia agreed to a one-year deal with veteran catcher Drew Butera, who could back up Realmuto should Philadelphia send Alfaro to Miami in a swap of the two catchers.
