Evan Gattis rumors: Astros in trade talks for catcher, Gattis in Houston for physical

Whoa, that escalated quickly.

Today, we got a brief note from Martin Gondee, formerly of Braves' SB Nation site Talking Chop and now of ESPN, who said the Astros were still in on Braves catcher Evan Gattis.

Gattis might be going to the Astros... stay tuned.

— gondeee (@gondeee) January 14, 2015

Gattis rumor came from a source I trust, though it might be premature & not fully informed.

— gondeee (@gondeee) January 14, 2015

That's less than reassuring, but it does break up the monotony of the offseason a bit. Also, the one thing this roster needs is more catchers.

But, things got VERY interesting after Bob Nightengale upped the ante on things.

The #Astros have brought #Braves catcher Evan Gattis into Houston for a physical today. They are one of 3 teams aggressively pursuing him.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 14, 2015

No parameters have been discussed here. We're still early in the process and this trade seems to be breaking as it's still in motion. I'd expect we start to hear returns soon.

Still, Gattis to the Astros has been rumored for months. Earlier this winter, we learned that the Astros have been trying to acquire the slugger since last summer.

Rival executive says he heard Astros are aggressively pursuing Evan Gattis, as @BNightengale reports. @mlbbowman also mentioned activity.

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) January 14, 2015

Gattis, 28, has four more years of team control left. The slugging catcher hit .263/.317/.493 in 401 plate appearances last season for 2.3 fWAR. The Braves planned to play Gattis in left field this season, but he could also play first base or DH with the Astros.

What does this mean? Without knowing the rest of the deal, we're in the dark. It makes some sense from Houston's end to turn someone like Dexter Fowler into Gattis. If those are the two main components to the trade, it's a win for Houston. The Astros could plug Gattis into left field and set him up as a fall-back option at first base in case Singleton struggles.

That would allow Houston to play Jake Marisnick, a superior defender to Fowler, in center field next to George Springer in right.

Also, as Mark Bowman of MLB.com states here, the trade is far from complete.

As @BNightengale reported, Gattis is in Houston today for a physical. But the #Braves are talking to at least one other club about Gattis.

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) January 14, 2015

UPDATE: Apparently, Gattis being in Houston for a physical almost guarantees that a trade has been agreed upon between the two teams. Unless, that is, the Braves are being shady.

Sources: #Braves’ Gattis in Houston for physical with #Astros, as @BNightengale first reported. Braves say still talking with other clubs...

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 14, 2015

Rival exec says trade agreement must be in place and commissioner’s office must be notified BEFORE team consents to player having physical.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 14, 2015

#Braves say they’re keeping their options open. We’ll see.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 14, 2015