The Philadelphia Phillies have reached an agreement to re-sign catcher J.T. Realmuto to a three-year, $45 million deal, according tomultiplereportson Friday.
A three-time All-Star,Realmuto was the top free-agent catcher available this offseason. The 34-year-old has been with the Phillies since 2019 and will remain a member of the team's core for three more seasons.
News of Realmuto's deal broke the same day the Phillies missed out on former Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette,who agreed to a free-agent deal with the rival New York Mets. Philadelphia met with Bichette on a video call earlier this week,according to The Athletic, andwas considered a serious suitor for the 27-year-old.
Signing Bichette might have meant Realmuto going elsewhere and likely would've led to the Phillies trading third baseman Alec Bohm. But Bichette landed with a division foe, and so Philadelphia is bringing back Realmuto, who is still one of the most reliable backstops in the majors.
Last season, his seventh with the Phillies, Realmuto made an MLB-high 132 appearances behind the plate. On one hand, he's not a top-notch framer. On the other, he has maintained quite a bit of zip on the ball, as evidenced by his tying for the fastest pop time to second base in the major leagues in 2025,per Statcast. Plus, he's known for his processing ability and in-game communication with pitchers.
As a hitter, Realmuto has been a lineup staple in 11 MLB seasons, counting the COVID-19-shortened 2020 campaign, and he has mashed double-digit homers in all of them.
This past season, he hit .257 with 12 home runs, 26 doubles, 1 triple and 52 RBI. That said, his .700 OPS was his lowest since 2015 when he was a rookie with the Miami Marlins.
Even so, when it mattered most, Realmuto supplied offense that was practically absent from the top of the Phillies' lineup in the playoffs. In fact, during the NLDS against the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, he went 6-for-17 with two doubles, a triple and a home run.
Realmuto earned All-Star recognition in 2018 with the Marlins and in 2019 (when he blasted a career-high 25 long balls) and 2021 with the Phillies.
There are some questions about the wear and tear Realmuto has experienced to this point in his career. Since he joined the Phillies in 2019, he has caught 1,183 1/3 more innings, the equivalent of approximately 131 games, than anyone else in MLB,according to The Athletic.
Earlier this offseason, the Philliesalso re-signed 32-year-old slugger Kyle Schwarber to a five-year contract. Andthey extended manager Rob Thomson through 2027, despite the club coming off its second straight speedy postseason exit.
Philadelphia isn't completely running it back, though. Another one of its free agents,left-handed starting pitcher Ranger Suárez, inked a deal with the Boston Red Sox this week.
