The Curious Case of J.T. Realmuto
In February of 2019, when the Phillies traded with the Miami Marlins for catcher J.T. Realmuto, Phillies fans were ecstatic for what they were getting.
After having arguably the best season of his career in 2019 – .275/.328/.493 with 25 home runs, 83 RBI, 92 runs, 43 caught stealing, a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger – Realmuto firmly cemented himself as the best catcher in baseball. In reality, he did that halfway through the season.
Even though he only had two years left on his contract at the time of the trade, it was pretty much assumed that Realmuto would be a fixture behind the plate for years to come. In fact, putting him with Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, and eventual third baseman Alec Bohm, it looked like the next great core was being assembled to lead the Phillies back to a Red October.
Now? That certainty looks a little murkier.
Going into Spring Training this year, it was almost a guarantee that Realmuto was going to sign a long-term contract with the team. The interest was there on both sides. Just as things appeared to be heating up, though, a worldwide pandemic forced the end of Spring Training and the postponement of the 2020 MLB season.
On top of that, baseball instituted a transaction freeze during the delay of the season, ending any chance the Phillies had to sign Realmuto before the season starts.
Now, when the season does resume – and it seems like we’re going to find out if that’s going to happen by the first week of June – the Phillies can certainly bring talks up again.
But, is negotiating a multi-year deal, which is expected to be one of the richest ever signed by a catcher, going to be at the top of the Phillies’ priority list?
There’s a good chance the answer is no. First, the front office and staff need to make sure all proper health and safety policies are put into place. Then, they will most likely have just a few weeks to assemble their Opening Day roster, which is most likely going to be more than the 26-man roster that was put into place pre-coronavirus.
On top of all that, revenue is going to be down across the league this year. How it will impact the upcoming free-agent class remains to be seen, but it would be a pretty safe guess to say that teams will be a little tighter with the purse strings this winter. The Phillies might not be likely to be that frugal though, as Forbes says the team made $392 million in revenue in 2019, one of the tops in baseball. That amount only seems likely to increase if they re-sign Realmuto. After all, the team would be more competitive, more likely to make the postseason and win the World Series, get more fans in the stadium buying gear, and they have a good TV contract.
So the Phillies are in no position to use revenue as an excuse for not signing Realmuto.
Then there’s the fact that their superstar, Bryce Harper, in an interview on Phillies.com said:
“We have to understand that he’s going to help us in the years to come and if you want the best catcher in baseball then we’ll make that happen.” He went on to say, “I want him more than anything, so I mean it’s something we need to make happen as an organization.”
When your superstar, who is here for another 11 years after whatever happens this season, speaks, you listen.
So I’m not too worried about the Phillies aggressively pursuing Realmuto. But what happens if they low-ball him a little bit? Does Realmuto, the closer he gets to free agency, decide to test the open market, revenue risks, and all? After all, it seems likely he gets the money he wants from one of the top teams in the game.
No matter what, the Phillies cannot allow Realmuto to walk. After giving up their top prospect – Sixto Sanchez – for him, it would be inexcusable to let the best catcher in baseball sign with another team.
When the game opens up and contracts can be negotiated again, the Phillies need to move quickly and lock Realmuto up.
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