The Philadelphia Phillies have re-signed veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto on a 3 year, $45M deal with incentives that could add $5M annually.
Following news of the Bo Bichette signing in New York, Philadelphia was quick to push the deal with their longtime catcher across the finish line. According to reports, the Phillies were prepared to move from both Realmuto and infielder Alec Bohm if they were able to sign Bichette to a long term deal. However with the former Jay now headed to their NL East rivals, GM Preston Mattingly and President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski wanted to make sure they wouldn’t lose Realmuto.
After tearing the meniscus in his right knee in 2024, the 34 year old bounced back in a big way last year, appearing in a league high 132 games behind the plate. He’s shown no signs of slowing down, tying for the Major League lead in fastest pop time to second base in 2025.
Offensively, the righty took a step back by his usually lofty standards, hitting .257 with 12 home runs, 52 RBIs, and 57 runs scored last season. His .700 OPS was the lowest mark of his career not including his rookie season.
That being said, he’ll offset the regressing bat with his veteran leadership and solid clubhouse presence for the Phillies.
Philadelphia has likely now completed most of their bigger ticket spending in free agency, with Realmuto’s deal possibly reaching $60M if all incentives are hit. The club could look to make a few depth trades to improve the roster, but most reports out of Phillies land seem to indicate that the roster is mostly “set” heading into Spring Training.
Photo: D. Benjamin Miller. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.