Texas Rangers trade rumors: Realmuto a Ranger target?

Texas Rangers trade rumors: J.T. Realmuto is being shopped by the Miami Marlins, and the catcher is generating lots of interest (and has a high ask by Miami). Interestingly, Jon Heyman says that the Texas Rangers are one of the teams “looking to get in on” the All Star catcher.

Realmuto, 27, is considered one of the top catchers in baseball, and the Rangers have a hole at catcher right now. But Realmuto also has just two years of team control remaining before he’s eligible to become a free agent after the 2020 season, and with the Rangers not being likely contenders in 2019, their interest in Realmuto is a bit surprising.

Heyman says that the Rangers (and Colorado Rockies) are behind other teams pursuing Realmuto, so this may be just a kick-the-tires situation, or a matter of checking in to see what the ask is with an eye towards possibly using one of the lefthanded outfield bats, such as Nomar Mazara, as a centerpiece of a deal, if the Marlins were in love with one of them.

That said, it sounds like the Rangers are on the outside looking in at this point, though the fact that they were at least trying to get into the mix is noteworthy.