Nationals Trade Rumors: Washington Interested in Chrsitian Yelich, J.T. Realmuto

Add the Washington Nationals to the list of teams reportedly interested in acquiring outfielder Christian Yelich and catcher J.T. Realmuto from the Miami Marlins. 

Per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, the Nationals are interested in either player individually or as a potential package deal.

Frisaro did note no deal between the Nationals and Marlins is imminent, and that Yelich and Realmuto are being courted by more than a dozen teams.

The Marlins have already traded Dee Gordon to the Seattle Mariners, Giancarlo Stanton to the New York Yankees and Marcell Ozuna this offseason in an effort to bring their payroll down to the $90 million range in 2018.

MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported Wednesday that the Atlanta Braves had also made an inquiry into the availability of Realmuto and Yelich.

Craig Mish of SiriusXM reported on Dec. 18 that Realmuto requested a trade from the Marlins. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reported that same day Yelich was “unhappy” with the moves made by Miami’s front office, but wanted to let them explain their plan before making a decision about his future.

Yelich is under contract for four more seasons with a team option for 2022. Realmuto is under team control through the 2021 season.