Philadelphia Phillies, All-Star Slugger Have Mutual Interest in Extension

The Philadelphia Phillies have some decisions to make at season's end, and bringing back this All-Star may be one of the tougher ones.

Aug 26, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher JT Realmuto (10) throws to first against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the seventh inning at Citizens Bank Park. / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies are going to contend again in 2025. However, when the season ends, they will have some tough decisions to make.

One of the tougher decisions they will have to make is whether or not to extend catcher J.T. Realmuto.

Realmuto came up with the Miami Marlins, but was traded to Philadelphia right before the start of the 2019 season.

In his final season with Miami, Realmuto made his first All-Star game while also capturing a Silver Slugger award. With Philadelphia, the catcher has made the Midsummer Classic twice more, won two Gold Glove awards, two Silver Slugger awards and he finished seventh in MVP voting in 2022.

In 2021, the right-handed hitter signed an extension in the City of Brotherly Love. It was a five-year $115,500,000 contract. According to Spotrac, Realmuto will be making $23,875,000 in 2025. It is the last year of his deal, so both he and the Phillies have to figure out what they want to do moving forward.

The good news is the Phillies and their All-Star catcher have mutual interest in staying together, per the Philadelphia Inquirer.

With Philadelphia, Realmuto has slashed .266/.331/.463. With that, he has hit 109 home runs and he has drove in 382 runs. The Gold Glove winner has been excellent behind the dish every year, as well. In 2024, he ranked in the 92nd percentile in caught stealing above average and 97th percentile in pop time, per Baseball Savant.

The 33-year-old has stayed pretty consistent in his time with the Phillies, so it is not hard to see why they would be interested in bringing him back.

Another reason for keeping him is the lack of MLB-ready catchers on the market, and in their organization.

Philadelphia has Rafael Marchán as the backup catcher, and he is pretty good. The 25-year-old backstop has played in just 40 career games at the Major League level. He has shown he can get it done, though. Marchán has hit .279 with an .810 OPS, five home runs and 18 runs scored in those games. The catcher has also thrown out more than half of the base stealers he has encountered.

Marchán is a good player, but he has not gotten a lot of playing time. He should get some more opportunities this season as the Phillies start to really evaluate what they have in a backup catcher.

Philadelphia has three catchers in their top-30 prospects, as well. No. 4 overall prospect Eduardo Tait is just 18. Alirio Ferrebus is the No. 29 prospect, but he is only 19. Both of these players still have a couple more years before they will be ready to join the big league roster. No. 22 prospect Caleb Ricketts is 24-years-old, but he really struggled in Double-A last season.

Realmuto will be 35 during the 2026 season, so an extension would not be long-term. However, the Phillies would be smart to keep him around for a couple more years.

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