Marlins trade rumors: Teams ‘keep trying’ to acquire J.T. Realmuto, Christian Yelich

Teams “keep trying” to lure outfielder Christian Yelich and catcher J.T. Realmuto away from the Marlins, according to FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman.

Several reports suggested teams were seeking Yelich and Realmuto in packages for controllable starting pitching in advance of the non-waiver trade deadline, but the Marlins ultimately opted to acquire Andrew Cashner without losing any players on their major league roster.

Both Yelich and Realmuto are having effective seasons and as a result the Marlins seemingly plan to keep both on their roster in the foreseeable future. Miami’s window of opportunity isn’t wide with Jose Fernandez and Giancarlo Stanton’s futures unclear. Keeping Yelich and Realmuto on the roster is a step toward maintaining success.

Yelich is a part of what the Marlins feel is one of the best outfields in the game and is having a solid season. Over 134 games, Yelich is batting .302/.378/.486 with 18 home runs and 86 RBIs. Since he has proven he can produce consistently, Yelich might prove to be valuable as Miami’s three hitter moving forward.

Realmuto, 25, is batting .313/.352/.435 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs over 119 games.

Since Wei-Yin Chen hasn’t proven to be an effective (or healthy) starting option for the Marlins behind Fernandez, the Marlins will likely pursue pitching this off-season. But the free agent market for pitching is comparably thin, and as a result, Miami might be forced to part with one of its productive position players, according to Heyman.

It’s unlikely either Yelich or Realmuto is moves, since the Marlins don’t have much outfield or catching depth. A trade involving any outfielder would almost certainly force the Marlins to sign a free agent outfield option.

Yelich and Realmuto will continue to draw interest, but unless the Marlins are overwhelmed by an offer, a deal seems unrealistic. Both seem to figure into Miami’s plans for 2017.