Phillies Fans Can Breath Sigh of Relief With J.T. Realmuto Injury Update

The Philadelphia Phillies look to have caught a break with catcher J.T. Realmuto.

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The Philadelphia Phillies are already without one key player in their lineup. Star shortstop Trea Turner has been sidelined, but there is some hope that he will return to the field this weekend to get some work in before the postseason.

On Tuesday night against the Miami Marlins, there was a fear that another integral part of the team was going to be joining Turner on the sidelines. Catcher J.T. Realmuto had to leave the game early after being struck on the hand by a foul ball. He exited with what was called a right index finger contusion.

With the National League East already wrapped up, the No. 1 goal for the Phillies right now is to get into the postseason as healthy as possible. Seeing their starting catcher go down left the team and fan base holding their collective breath.

Phillies receive good news on J.T. Realmuto's injury

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Alas, they can now breathe a sigh of relief. As shared by Paul Casella of MLB.com, X-rays were done on his finger, and they came back negative. Realmuto is considered day-to-day.

“That was quite a blow he took to his finger,” Thomson said, via Casella. “But X-rays were negative, and we’ll check him out tomorrow.”

The veteran catcher was able to remain in the game to finish the top of the ninth defensively. He made a few warm-up throws with third baseman Alec Bohm and was good to go. However, scheduled to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, he was lifted in favor of Rafael Marchan because he could not properly grip his bat.

Realmuto’s durability has been a major reason the Phillies have found the amount of success they have this season. He has caught a Major League-high 1,123.1 innings. His defensive acumen and ability to work with the pitching staff are held in high regard.

J.T. Realmuto is incredibly important to Phillies success

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Philadelphia still has some work to do to earn the bye and avoid the Wild Card Round. But, Realmuto could see some of his reps scaled back to ensure he makes it to the postseason without any more nagging injuries.

His importance to the team was voiced by Cristopher Sanchez, who threw seven shutout innings with Realmuto behind the plate on Tuesday.

“He's super important to us,” Sánchez said. “He's one of the best catchers in the game. We're basically nothing without him. So he's just a key player and a key piece for all of us.”

In 2025, Realmuto has a .259/.317/.389 slash line with 12 home runs, 26 doubles and 52 RBI. His OPS+ has dropped for a third consecutive year to 92, but his impact defensively remains an important part of the team’s success.