Philly Front Office

This JT Realmuto thing is lasting a lot longer than we all planned. Whether you want him back or not, it sure as anything seemed like the Phillies were going to lock up JT shortly after inking Kyle Schwarber to a 5/$150m contract. It hasn’t happened. What once seemed like a lock for something around 2 years and $20m to $30m is now uncertain. What happens if the Phillies do not resign JT Realmuto?

Will the Phillies resign JT Realmuto?

Internal Options

There must be some young stud we can promote, right? Absolutely not. Despite JT being in his 30s for over 4 years now, the Phillies have not developed a succession plan. Logan O’Hoppe (who might stink) was traded 3 years ago, but he’s been the only starting caliber backstop in the system for as long as I remember (and I remember Lou Marson).

So, what do we have? We have Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchan. On paper, this should be better than it is. It isn’t. Marchan is a 27-year-old switch hitter with 3 years of control remaining. I say switch hitter, but in his career he is exponentially better hitting from the right against lefties. ¹ Unfortunately, despite hitting from the left, Stubbs has career reverse splits hitting way better against lefties as well (not that it makes him very good from either side). He’s 32 with 2 years of control left. Both are on close to minimum salaries.

Marchan is out of options and the better defender. Having the both of them switch off as everyday catchers probably can’t happen. We would need to bring in at least a serviceable lefty hitter to compliment Marchan.

Rafael Marchan > Garrett Stubbs

Free Agents

The best catcher available is hands down JT Realmuto. He’s the only full time starting caliber receiver available. This whole exercise assumes he doesn’t come back, so let’s see who else is out there:

• Victor Caratini – Caratini is a switch hitter who has managed a .700+ OPS 3 years in a row in backup duty. Thankfully for Phillies purposes, he hits a little better against righties. He is not a blackhole on defense either. His contract was $6m last year and might take less this season, especially if he was in a situation to actually play more for a contender in Philly.
• Jonah Heim – Once seen as a long term answer for the Rangers at catcher, Heim fell off a cliff 2 years ago at the plate. He’s a switch hitter who was equally bad from both sides of the plate last year but is traditionally better against lefties (damnit).
• Christian Vazquez – At 35, he’s still a good catcher, but he simply can’t hit anymore. He’s much better against righties, which is good, but it’s still a terrible .600 OPS. No.
• Elias Diaz – Like Vazquez, Diaz is 35 still good at defense but can’t hit anything. Also no.

There are other guys out there, but it’s no one you’ve ever heard of like Reese McGuire and MJ Melendez. Other than both being lefty hitters, I have nothing good to say.

The Phillies Need One More Bat

Trades

Trade is the only real viable route for a JT replacement (unless you believe in a Caratini/Marchan combo (you probably shouldn’t)). Luckily, there are some options here. For effect, we are starting with the lesser options and moving up to the game changer…

• Pedro Pages – Cardinals – Everyone on the Cardinals is for sale right now including the 27-year-old righty. He has 4 years of control left and is a good catcher…he just can’t really hit at all from either side. He strikes out too much, doesn’t walk, and has no split difference.
• Connor Wong – Red Sox – Wong was one of the worst hitters in baseball last year. Awesome! However, the righty did have a very solid 2024 with regular at bats, OPSing .758. He’s a righty who has traditionally hit better against righties. This would baffle Topper, but wouldn’t be the worst pairing with Marchan in theory. He has 3 years of control left and is making just over $1m. He shouldn’t cost much.
• Adley Rutschman – Orioles – For months, Phillies fans have been saying things along the lines of “why don’t we just trade for Adley Rutschman?” as if it were a given that he is not only available but cheap. I don’t think either are true (even if I spouted the same nonsense in the last year). Rutschman is a former top prospect in baseball and after bursting onto the scene 4 years ago just had two pretty bad years in a row. He’s a 28-year-old switch hitter who is still very good behind the plate. The Orioles would be selling low on a former potential franchise cornerstone. However, they also just signed rookie catcher Samuel Basallo to an 8/$67m contract. He’s a better hitter than catcher, but he’s now the backstop of the future even if he likely won’t play the position a ton next season. What would it take to get Rutschman? Probably more than his sub .700 OPS warrants. Phillies fans hear the name and think they would be getting a star on the cheap when neither is the case. The Orioles will ask for one of our top 3 guys to which we will decline and offer Aroon Escobar and filler. The Orioles aren’t going to accept that. It’s not going to happen and probably shouldn’t.
• Shea Langeliers – A’s – Langeliers is the reason I just wrote 1000 words about the catcher market. He is the solution to all of the Phillies problems. Look:
  • Catcher of the Future: Langeliers is 28 and under team control for 3 more years. He is never going to win a gold glove at catcher, but is also not a negative behind the plate. He is either a candidate for an early extension or at worst a decent contract at 31 when he first hits free agency.
  • Payroll: At a $3m arbitration projection this season, there will not be any problem with payroll. We all know the Phillies need another bat but the team is reluctant to spend much more in free agency. This trade would be a net $12m-ish gain on re-signing Realmuto. All of a sudden a team that blew its budget is right where it needs to be without sacrificing anything.
  • Middle of the Order Bat: When I say right where it needs to be, I mean that it is very obvious this team needs another bat. The Phillies cannot go into 2026 with Alec Bohm as its cleanup hitter. What kind of hitter is Langeliers? Well, the righty has hit 60 HRs and 50 doubles over the last two years while crushing a .277 average last year while reducing his strikeouts from 145 to 103. He’s getting better. As a righty, he had a VERY good .803 OPS against fellow righties last year while TORCHING lefties with a 1.000+ OPS. Hitting him between Harper and Schwarber would be a problem.
  • The Cost: Here’s the downside. We are not going to even get an answer to a phone call without saying the password: Andrew Painter. The Phillies top prospect had a down year last season but most evaluators chalk that up to his first year removed from TJ surgery and not a red flag. One of the problems with the trade would be that the A’s do not have anyone to replace him…at all. They seem to always have a catching prospect somewhere, but they seem to be empty at he moment with none in their top 30. There is a chance a deal for Painter and Marchan wouldn’t be enough. I don’t know if not-Oakland is in a position to pass on 6 years of a potential ace though.

Overview

If you were wondering why this situation isn’t so simple, this is it. Getting an optimal replacement for JT easily does not exist. We will either be left wanting or paying out our ass. JT’s agent also knows this. It’s why I have been saying for months that JT has us by the balls.

1. Despite this and JT showing reverse splits last year, Topper damn near always hit Marchan from the left side. It was infuriating especially when everyone was calling for Stubbs over Marchan. I felt like I was taking crazy pills. ↩︎