Phillies Fans: Take a Moment to be Happy About Realmuto and Gregorius

J.T. Realmuto and Didi Gregorius are coming back to the Phillies. Let’s take a moment to celebrate that.

Last week, the Phillies officially re-signed All-Star catcher (and BCIB) J.T. Realmuto to a five-year contract. Any day now, the team should announce a press conference to officialize Didi Gregorius’ new contract too. With these two back in the fold, the Phillies will have one of the highest-scoring lineups in the league. In other words, this is indisputably great news.

However, before the ink was even dry on Realmuto’s new contract, many people began asking for more. In fact, plenty of fans seemed downright angry, suggesting that the Phillies shouldn’t have spent $152.5 million this offseason to still finish in fourth place.

This argument isn’t exactly wrong. FanGraphs Depth Charts still projects the Phillies to finish fourth in the NL East, with a .495 winning percentage. The Phillies still lack depth in their bullpen and starting rotation. They could use an upgrade in center field too.

But now should be a time for celebrating, not complaining! This is the moment that we have been waiting for all offseason. J.T. Realmuto and Didi Gregorius were two of the Phillies’ best players last season, and with their return, the Phillies become a much more competitive ball team. No, these moves don’t make the Phillies postseason favourites, but they make the postseason a possibility.

J.T. Realmuto brings attention to the Phillies at a national level. Who was the last Phillies player to be the best in the world at his position? (I’ll give you a hint, his name rhymes with Base Futley.) Didi Gregorius is one of the most fun players you could have on your team. His social media presence is legendary, and he’s universally beloved by his teammates.

It’s true, of course, that the Phillies still need to improve. But now that Dave Dombrowksi has filled their two biggest holes, he can get to work on the rest. There are still two months before the season begins, and there are still many talented free agents available. Just because the Phillies aren’t finished making moves this offseason, it doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate what they’ve done so far.

There are so many reasons to complain about the Philadelphia Phillies organization, and there are so many more steps the team should take if they really want to compete next season. But this has been the most exciting few days to be a Phillies fan since they won 10 out of 11 games last August. If there’s ever been a time in the past year to just sit back and appreciate this baseball team, it’s right now.

To all the disgruntled Phillies fans out there, I hear you. I understand why you’re not ready to believe just yet. But I urge you to put aside your pessimism for a little while. Take some time to enjoy what the Phillies do have. I promise it’s more fun that way.