Philadelphia Phillies: JT Realmuto rumored to be staying in the NL East
By David Esser
JT Realmuto could be hanging around the Philadelphia Phillies in some capacity.
The MLB offseason is fully underway at the moment, and as expected, former Philadelphia Phillies catcher JT Realmuto is a frequent name popping up in rumors. The 2x All-Star catcher is viewed as the most complete offensive player on the market, and the bidding war for his services could end up being intense.
MLB.com’s Will Leitch released a list ranking Realmuto’s potential suitors this winter, and the inclusion of multiple NL East teams should raise a level of concern amongst Phillies fans and Phillies ownership alike.
1. New York Mets
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The Mets were the first team named on the list, and it makes sense. The organization was just purchased by the richest owner in MLB history (Steve Cohen), and they have a glaring need at catcher. Cohen is expected to make some sort of splash this offseason as he looks to vault the Mets back into the postseason, and landing the best catcher in all of baseball would surely generate buzz around the league.
Realmuto has expressed a lack of desire in regards to physically playing in New York (the Yankees are another team rumored to be in on JT), but at the end of the day money talks. Cohen has a couple billon dollars lying around that he could spend, and throwing $150-200 million at a free agent likely wouldn’t a problem for him.
2. Philadelphia Phillies
The good news is that the Phillies did crack MLB.com’s list, and they only came in behind one team. The Phils would obviously like to see Realmuto return this winter, but ownership is reportedly unwilling to spend big time money on free agents this year.
The Phillies also don’t have a GM at the moment, which is a whole different discussion entirely.
We all know Bryce Harper wants Realmuto back in town, but it remains to be seen if ownership feels the same way.
5. Washington Nationals
Coming in at number five is last year’s World Series winner; the Washington Nationals. Despite their major struggles in 2020, the Nats likely believe their championship window is still very much open. Juan Soto is playing like an MVP, and Stephen Strasburg should return to the rotation healthy next year.
Adding Realmuto would solve their catcher woes while simultaneously replacing some of that lost production from Anthony Rendon’s departure. Soto is also quite openly a huge JT fan, and is likely advocating for the move pretty hard.
6. Atlanta Braves
The Braves are coming off a season where they just barely missed out on a trip to the World Series, and it’s unlikely that they’ll take their foot off the gas anytime soon. They already have Travis D’Arnaud at the catcher position, but they would happily move him to DH if it meant JT was coming into town.
A trio of Freddie Freeman, Ronald Acuna Jr., and JT Realmuto would terrorize opposing pitching staffs for years.
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Losing Realmuto this offseason would be a major blow, but losing him to a NL East rival would be borderline catastrophic. If the Philadelphia Phillies want to avoid that potential doomsday scenario, they would be wise to lock up their former All-Star catcher sooner rather than later.
*The Los Angeles Angels came it at #3, the Yankees came in at #4, and the Blue Jays, Cardinals, Rockies, and Twins rounded out the list.*