Phillies Offseason Stay or Go: J.T. Realmuto

Rob Thomson sat in the dugout at Citizens Bank Park with two games remaining in the 2025 regular season. He had released a lineup with J.T. Realmuto set to play his 134th game hours later, months after the manager vowed to limit his veteran catcher’s workload to keep him fresh for an expected Red October run.

Realmuto instead matched his playing time from the 2021-2023 seasons and blew past his workload from 2024, when he missed six weeks with a knee injury.

Another season for Realmuto at the top of the MLB leaderboard in innings behind the plate only reinforced what Jayson Stark told 97.5 The Fanatic in May during his weekly appearance.

Will the Philadelphia Phillies kick the compulsive habit, or will they pay lucrative money to a free agent catcher on the offensive decline entering his age 35 season?

Realmuto’s pop time remarkably still ranked at the top of the majors in his age 34 season. He’s thrown out runners at excellent rates both before and after MLB rule changes in 2023 began to favor base stealers. He also runs the bases himself as well or better than any major league catcher. 

However, it’s the level of trust the Phillies place in Realmuto with pregame scouting and management of one of the best pitching staffs in the major leagues that sets his value far beyond quantifiable statistics.

Look no further than the confidence of Zack Wheeler for proof. The fiercely competitive creature of habit relies on Realmuto’s baseball sense in pregame preparation and pitch selection to the point where the Phillies regularly avoid using backup catchers with Wheeler on the mound for fear of messing with success.

J.T. Realmuto once again finished first in the majors with 1151⅓  innings caught in 2025. He's been behind the plate for over 1000 more innings than any other catcher since joining the Phillies in 2019.

While the Philadelphia media repeatedly reminded Thomson of the pace that ran against his preseason goal, the manager didn't kick the addiction that Jayson Stark alluded to.

Thomson instead called his catcher a “freak of nature” with an ability to handle the intense workload at the most physically demanding position in the sport.

If the Phillies allowed Realmuto to walk away in free agency, would a starting rotation that carried them to a second consecutive division title waver without their trusted backstop as the intangible force behind it?

Realmuto had his worst offensive season with the Phillies in 2025.

His monthly splits had a concerning disparity. He hit .222 with a .654 OPS (2025 MLB Averages: .245, .719) through the end of May. He struggled particularly against left-handed pitching in a lefty-heavy lineup that counts on its stronger right-handers to provide balance. The three-time MLB All-Star also grounded into double plays at an usually high rate and struggled to make contact in the season's early months.

The slow start pushed Realmuto to limit the typical leg kick leading into his swing. It seemed that the adjustment unlocked the prime-age catcher that built a reputation as one of the best hitters in the majors at his position.

A turnaround in June, July, and August coincided with the lineup’s collective resurgence. His numbers aligned more closely with his career averages for a period of roughly half a season, and his strikeout rate dropped to reverse a concerning trend.

However, the hot streak didn’t last. Thomson hoped entering the season that limiting Realmuto's playing time would help prevent him from tailing off offensively late in the season. The Phillies saw the impact of the workload about as tangibly as they possibly could have when their catcher posted an ugly .556 OPS in September.

Realmuto enters free agency as the top catcher on the market. He’s due for a paycut from his previous five-year deal worth $115 million ($23.1 million average salary). The consensus projections for a two-year, $25 million deal might, however, underestimate how the offseason market can impact desperate teams.

All it takes is one suitor searching for a catcher to offer Realmuto a lucrative deal with more term or a higher annual value than the contract projections.

The Phillies will prioritize re-signing Kyle Schwarber first and foremost, and Dombrowski already offered up that he doesn't expect John MIddleton to fund a $400 million payroll. If the Phillies want to add another big bat to a lineup that looked stale at points in 2025, Realmuto’s financial expectations could become harder to meet.

Dombrowski faces the toughest decision of a turning point offseason for the franchise. Does he have the guts to risk losing a catcher whose intangibles have shaped the recent stretch of World Series contention as much as any superstar on the roster with a higher-profile name?

The Phillies don't have an internal option in Rafael Marchan or Garrett Stubbs that fits Dombrowski's profile. They traded top catching prospect Eduardo Tait in the Jhoan Duran deal. The offseason market, especially in free agency, isn't encouraging.

The addiction to J.T. Realmuto might be too difficult to kick.

All stats courtesy of StatCast, Baseball Reference, and FanGraphs.