The Miami Marlins have been selling like crazy this offseason, already trading away Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, and Dee Gordon. The fire sale under the new ownership has caused a lot of head scratching from baseball fans and frustration among Marlins supporters. But, it seems they are not done with the selling. There are still a few valuable players on the squad, and teams are expressing interest.

The latest Rumors are saying the Marlins are shopping catcher J.T. Realmuto and that the Houston Astros are interested. The talks so far suggest that Miami is eyeing 21-year-old outfield prospect Kyle Tucker, who is currently the Astros' top prospect in the minors.

This was reported on Twitter by SiriusXM radio reporter Craig Mish. He says the odds are "50/50" that Realmuto gets dealt by Opening Day.

Realmuto's value

The 26-year-old catcher has been an underrated value in baseball the past few years. Last year he slashed .278/.332/.451 with 17 home runs and a 3.6 bWAR in 141 games. He is a career .280 hitter. Defensively, he sports a .993 fielding percentage behind the plate with a 32 percent caught stealing rate. He has been in the majors for three full seasons while playing in a total of 415 games in his career. Right now, he is in his prime and his value is reaching its peak with the Marlins.

Realmuto reportedly expressed that he wanted out of Miami earlier this month.

It's hard to blame him, considering the current state of the team. With the rumors that are swirling around and his desire to want to get out of Miami, it would be safe to assume a deal will be made. If Realmuto does indeed get traded, then all their top-five fWAR players from 2017 will be gone.

Potential for the Astros

The defending-champion Houston Astros are a rich team that has gotten richer this offseason.

After going all the way in 2017, they made a trade to get Gerrit Cole from the Pittsburgh Pirates to add to the rotation. Adding a talent like Realmuto would be another significant addition to the lineup and the pitching staff.

To get him, they have to give up some stuff. Like previously mentioned, their top prospect is the main guy in the discussions.

Now is the window for the Astros to contend, and it would be worth giving up another prospect or two for a catcher like Realmuto. In terms of the contract, Realmuto will earn $2.9 million in 2018 with the next two controlled years being arbitration eligible. He does not become an unrestricted free agent until 2021, so this would not be a one-year "rental" move by any means.
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