MLB Trade Rumors: Marlins Want Amed Rosario, More from Mets in JT Realmuto Deal

The New York Mets are reportedly "resistant" to include shortstop Amed Rosario in trade talks surrounding Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto. 

On Wednesday, Jon Heyman of Fancred reported talks between the NL East rivals, which also feature Mets outfielders Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo, are "real," but noted progress toward a potential deal has been slowed by the Mets' desire to keep Rosario.

The 23-year-old Dominican Republic native posted a mediocre .256/.295/.381 triple-slash line with 24 stolen bases and nine home runs across 154 games in 2018, his first full season in the big leagues.

Rosario also struggled in the field, posting a minus-16 Defensive Runs Saved figure at shortstop, the seventh-worst total of any fielder in MLB last season, per FanGraphs.

Although the speedy infielder still features plenty of untapped potential—he was rated as the organization's top prospect by MLB.com in 2017—it's a bit surprising he's being prioritized by the Mets over a proven commodity like Conforto.

The 25-year-old Oregon State product compiled a .939 OPS across 109 games in 2017, which would have ranked 13th in all of baseball if he had enough plate appearances to qualify, and he's coming off a 2018 campaign where he finished with a .350 OBP and a career-high 28 homers.

New York also features another prized shortstop prospect, Andres Gimenez, who finished this year at the Double-A level and could be ready for the majors in late 2019 or early 2020.

So it wouldn't be a surprise if the Mets are leaking their desire to keep Rosario in a sneaky bid to get Conforto removed from the Realmuto discussions instead.

The Marlins' catcher, who slugged 21 homers at a position with an extremely limited number of impact offensive contributors, is under team control through 2020 and would provide a much-needed boost to the Mets lineup to help the club's star-studded rotation.

Last month, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals were the other teams showing interest in Realmuto.

The Mets shouldn't let Rosario and his long-term potential stand in the way of finishing a blockbuster trade, especially with their NL East foes also involved in the sweepstakes.