Where Red Sox's Perplexing Pursuit Of Phillies 3-Time All-Star Stands

Is Boston seeing something the rest of us don't?

Jul 25, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; A detailed view of a Hall of Fame patch on a Philadelphia Phillies hat resting in the dugout during the second inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Of all the potential targets the Boston Red Sox have been linked to this winter, J.T. Realmuto is one of the toughest to wrap one's head around.

Realmuto is a three-time All-Star who was perhaps the best catcher in all of baseball at his peak. Entering his age-35 season, though, he is in obvious decline on offense, though he remains one of the best throwers at the position.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox had a rookie catcher break out this season, as Carlos Narváez seems to be the clear-cut starter behind the dish for the coming season. But it appears their interest in Realmuto is genuine in some fashion.

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Red Sox have "sniffed around" Realmuto, report says

On Monday, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reported that Boston remained engaged on Realmuto, though his suspicion was that the backstop would be something of a fallback plan if the Red Sox missed on other bats they were targeting.

"The Red Sox indeed have sniffed around on free agent catcher J.T. Realmuto, as The Athletic reported," wrote Healey. "It’s not clear how that would work. It feels like a down-ballot alternative if they come up empty on the many other hitters/infielders they are involved with.

"Maybe a 50/50 playing-time split with Carlos Narváez would get the most out of both. ... But Realmuto prides himself on playing a ton at the most physically demanding position — getting into 130-plus games in four of the past five years — and wants to keep doing so."

This past season, Realmuto put up a .700 OPS, his lowest in a single season since 2015. If he's the Red Sox's idea of landing right-handed power (12 home runs this year), the fan base is going to have some harsh words for this Boston front office.

Such a move would also make more sense if the two catchers batted from opposite sides of the plate, but seeing as they do not, there's no advantage to be gained from a platoon or a late-game pinch-hit situation.

If Realmuto is the second-best bat the Red Sox add this offseason, the offense likely won't be good enough to measure up to the sport's elites. And if he's the best, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow could have a full-on revolt to shrug off in press conferences.

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