The Philadelphia Phillies have decided to re-sign catcher J.T. Realmuto on a three-year, $45 million deal, according to multiple reports. Ken Rosenthal and Matt Gelb of The Athletic were the first to report that a deal was close. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the news of the signing with contract terms while live on “The Pat McAfee Show” while talking about other baseball topics. Robert Murray of FanSided reported Realmuto could make up to $60 million with incentives. This comes shortly after the rival New York Mets signed free agent infielder Bo Bichette. The Phillies were considered a favorite to sign Bichette.
After the Bichette signing, this was the next move. Realmuto, along with Kyle Schwarber have re-signed with the Phillies. Meanwhile, Ranger Suárez has reportedly signed with the Boston Red Sox. Suárez signing elsewhere is not a surprise, given that the Phillies have Andrew Painter ready to join the rotation. With Realmuto re-signing, the Phillies will likely have Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchán compete in Spring Training for the backup job. Stubbs and Marchán are both out of minor league options. However, Stubbs is on a split contract, which means Marchán likely gets to back up Realmuto again.
Phillies Re-Sign Catcher Realmuto
What This Means For The Team
Heading into his age-35 season, Realmuto will remain the Phillies’ catcher. Realmuto getting a three-year deal at that age as a catcher is somewhat surprising. However, Realmuto has caught the most innings and games of any catcher since he joined the Phillies in 2019. Realmuto had a .257/.315/.384 line with 12 home runs and 52 RBI in 134 games last season. Furthermore, Realmuto recorded a 94 wRC+, his second-worst in a season where he played at least 100 games, and a .321 BABIP in 2025. Realmuto has been declining offensively over the last few seasons. 2022 is the most recent season where Realmuto had a 110 wRC+ or better and an .800 OPS or better. Realmuto’s importance to the Phillies’ pitching staff can’t be overstated, though.
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
