MLB Trade Rumors: Houston Astros Looking to Further Bolster Their Repeat Dreams, Now Reportedly Looking at Adding J.T. Realmuto
The Houston Astros are on top of the world.
The franchise is bringing back the core group that just won 101 regular season games last year and followed that by vanquishing the Boston Red Sox, surviving the New York Yankees and outslugging the Los Angeles Dodgers over the course of an epic postseason run to win the World Series.
Heading into this year, the Astros look like they have a pretty good shot at winning a second consecutive World Series title, as they did not really lose any key member of the team and even bolstered their rotation by adding talented right-hander Gerrit Cole.
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Still, the Astros' roster can be improved in certain spots.
For instance, the catcher position is a spot where the team could still use an upgrade. Veteran Brian McCann is currently slated to be the team's primary starter at that position, and while he does offer some power and decent on-base skills, it is not difficult to imagine his production continuing to decline now that he is entering his mid-30s.
Sometime soon, the Astros will need someone to take over for McCann at the catcher's spot, and that could be why a new rumor is linking them to a young backstop.
Over on Twitter, Craig Mish of SiriusXM reported that the Astros "have engaged in trade discussions for JT Realmuto."
Realmuto is the young and still improving starting catcher for the Miami Marlins.
Given the kind of offseason the Marlins have already had, there were rumblings that the team may deal Realmuto as well.
An earlier article from The Washington Post's Jorge Castillo even noted that the Washington Nationals were interested in adding the aforementioned catcher.
It is not really that surprising that the Astros and Nationals have been mentioned as teams that could trade for Realmuto given that the two could both benefit from improving their catcher spots.
With the regular season set to start sooner rather than later, the time for the Astros and Nationals to ramp up their pursuit of Realmuto is now, and it will be interesting to see how this situation unfolds.
