The Braves are reportedly putting the kibosh on a trade for Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, per the latest from MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Bowman says that the club hasn’t engaged in further talks with the Marlins for the last five days and doesn’t appear to have any plans to resume discussions, either.
While the Braves aren’t starved for catching depth, Realmuto would have rounded out a trio that already includes sub-.200 hitters Tyler Flowers and Brian McCann. The 27-year-old backstop, meanwhile, is coming off of a career year with the Marlins, during which he earned his first All-Star nomination and Silver Slugger award after slashing a healthy .277/.340/.484 with 21 home runs, an .825 OPS and 4.8 fWAR through 531 plate appearances.
The Braves’ apparent lack of interest shouldn’t have a negative impact on Realmuto’s market, however, as they were just one of six teams rumored to approach the Marlins with an offer. The Reds, Rays, Mets, Padres and Dodgers are all still in on the slugger, whose current contract places him under team control through 2020 and for whom a hefty return would be expected. So far, a frontrunner has yet to emerge in trade talks.
