Neither the Phillies nor J.T. Realmuto had been quiet about the fact that the two sides were exploring an extension prior to the league’s shutdown in mid-March. However, the roster freeze that was implemented back in March also prohibits teams from negotiating long-term contracts with their players, so talks between the two sides were halted. In a new interview with The Athletic’s Matt Gelb (subscription required), Realmuto indicates that the Phils had yet to present a formal offer, but he also speaks optimistically that a deal indeed could have come together.
“There was definitely a feeling that things were about to start moving pretty quickly,” Realmuto tells Gelb in a wide-ranging interview that discusses his mindset during the pandemic shutdown, the upcoming free-agent landscape and the league’s attempt to reboot the 2020 season. (Phillies fans, in particular, will want to read it in its entirety.)
The Phillies sent three players — catcher Jorge Alfaro, top pitching prospect Sixto Sanchez, young lefty Will Stewart — and international bonus allotments to the Marlins last winter in order to acquire Reamluto’s final two pre-arbitration seasons. However, it has long seemed that the goal all along was to entice Realmuto to sign a long-term deal in Philly, adding him to a core group including Aaron Nola, Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery. General manager Matt Klentak has gushed about Realmuto’s importance to the club and had no qualms about labeling him the game’s best backstop — an opinion with which many onlookers would agree. It’s understandable that there’d be strong interest in locking the 29-year-old up for the long term.
Whenever the transaction freeze is lifted, the two sides will be able to resume negotiations. The Phils surely still have interest in retaining Realmuto long-term, but mutual interest between the two parties may be the only constant that carries over from previous talks. With a surefire loss of revenue on the horizon, there’s no guarantee that owner John Middleton will be willing to put forth the same number he might have under normal circumstances — or whether he’ll be willing to put forth an offer at all.
There’s also no telling how the looming uncertainty will impact Realmuto’s asking price and desire for stability. The catcher says to Gelb that the “top tier” of free agents “always seem to find a way” to get paid. However, the forthcoming offseason has the potential to be even chillier for free agents than the tepid 2017-18 and 2018-19 offseasons that led to allegations of collusion and set the stage for what should be an extraordinarily contentious wave of collective bargaining. (The current clash over player compensation in a shortened season only figures to exacerbate that tension.)
Given that owners are already seeking additional concessions from players who’d previously agreed to prorated salaries, it’s hard to envision many teams handing out lucrative multi-year extensions when the freeze is lifted — at least extensions that are deemed reasonable on the player side. Deferred money and backloaded structures might curb some concerns from the team perspective, but the wide-ranging economic uncertainty will complicate extension negotiations in an unprecedented manner.
again, cant imagine him not coming back. he’s too valuable to this team and i cant see any plausible replacement that isnt a huge step down save maybe Salvy, and even that’s not a step down you want to take.
What is the amount money/years Realmuto would ask for to change your opinion? 125M?
more than that. Realmuto’s athleticism, defensive ability, and hitting is something unseen in this era of baseball. id take 5/125 if that’s what it takes.
Agreed. He’s worth even more if the DH comes to the NL. As much as I do not want to see it, it will make JTR that much more valuable (not to mention his ability to man 1B).
How so? That might make the defensive wizzes at catcher more valuable. Now, teams don’t have to worry about 2 automatic outs and now only one.
Prob more like 7 210 he’s gonna want money ecspecially seeing Strasbourg getting 200M
Pass me some of what you’re smoking, dang
JT and his agent see an inept organization that seems incapable of assembling a quality pitching staff. They see the pitching-rich Mets 90 miles up the Jersey Turnpike and the money laden Rangers eager to make a bold move this winter to fill their new park. JT is as good as gone.
they also see one that threw crazy ammounts of money at Arrieta and Harper and dont seem about to stop. They paid to trade for him so im sure his agent knows they can cam leverage that into a bigger payday.
Gotta disagree. JT has been nothing but positive about the situation from the get-go.
Obviously he’s not going to throw his team under the bus there doesn’t seem to be any discontent with the Org’s current approach.
Phillies just threw money at Wheeler, Nola had a down year but is a candidate for positive regression, Arrieta is healthier now than he’s been in years (still not expecting much from him TBH), Spencer Howard’s MLB debut is looming….
It’s not as grim as you make it out to be.
Before the pandemic I thought this was a done deal. Now, no one knows what a fair offer would even look like. Phils are in a tough spot here and plenty of teams are ready to pounce.
Yeah, but if plenty of teams are willing to pounce, then the laws of supply and demand dictate that a current fair offer wouldn’t be that far from a pre-Covid one. I still expect a shortened season this year and a full season next year, so he’s worth what he was before. I doubt many owners will be short-sighted enough to let a premium talent get away for the next 5 years because of what’s happening this year. He’s one of the two best catchers in the game, and there’s a significant dropoff not too long after those two, so he’ll get paid. I’m also guessing he stays, but a lot of good teams could use a big upgrade at C.
I say a 5 year deal with a 6th year option. If not then the phillies are stuck with Knapp and Grullón at catcher, unless they could swing a trade with the royals for perez.
@angelsfan, I agree. You don’t want to go too long on most players, but especially not a catcher. I could see a desperate team offering six guaranteed years, but not more than that. Were I a GM, I’d offer what you’re saying, no more.
I think 5 years 13-145 max with a 6th year option. I think that is enough.
Well I guess my thinking is we don’t know what teams will be willing to spend until Realmuto hits free agency. So an extension offer is tricky.
That is what I am thinking, I would not be surprised if the phillies wait until the offseason and see how the market reacts.
He will be a Phillies. Both sides want it done.
We’ve heard that rhetoric before. It’s talking heads. I’m sure the Phillies want it done, but it’s better to say, “I want to stay, I like it here,” than it is to say, “I hate it here and can’t wait to leave.” You have more leverage with the first and come across as a team-first guy. I don’t know him so I don’t know how much he means it, but if another team offers more than the Phillies are willing to pay, I could see him walking.
to be fair, Yankees fans for example say it a lot more and are wrong a greater percent of the time.
That’s fair.
I hope they get a deal done for Realmuto. I would pay him what he wants. My offer would be 5 years 130-140 mill , with an option for a 6th year. They gave up way too much just to let him walk.
I think the owners will try to recapture their losses this year with future salaries. The contracts you’ve seen signed over the last few years are going to be the high water mark for at least a couple of years, even more than that. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a lot of short-term deals, because players will not want to lock themselves in at a steep discount, and steep discount is all they might be offered.
The premium type players will probably not see much change. The market for Mookie and others like him will mostly limited to the major market teams that throw money around like there’s no tomorrow, which would have beenthe case anyway. Those same teams will open their checkbook for the guy they “can’t do without.” Those teams will still bid against each other. It’ll be the lower and mid-level guys that’ll see less money and shorter deals.
The phils have enough money they’re spending right now on harper. If he wants to come back he better not ask very high
You are obviously very clueless.
how
He means it’s silly to think he’ll come back for far less than the market rate. The Phillies have spent a lot on Harper and now Wheeler, but when you have a premium talent who’s one of the two best at his position and you don’t have good alternatives in-house, you have to offer at least close to top dollar to have a chance. Realmuto knows how valuable and how good he is. He’s not going to come back “not ask very high.”
*come back and “not ask very high.”
wow! didnt know that one contract is keeping them from paying anyone else. you clearly dont understand this team’s finances.
“ … in order to acquire Reamluto’s final two pre-arbitration seasons.”
Realmuto wasn’t acquired with pre-arbitration time left. He had two seasons of arbitration left.
And this is the Will Harris you should have tagged: https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=stewar010wil
I think Buster Posey’s deal that he signed when he was 26, coming off MVP season, and Yadi’s last deal would be the best comps to gage what a Realmuto deal would look like. Posey got 9 years and 186 million and Yadi got 3 years 60 million as a 34 year old… with Realmuto at age 30, I think a 7 year deal worth 150 million would be fair for both sides. With a vesting 8th year option for 25 million boosting the deal to 8 year and 175 million. Realmuto is elite and will likely be a prime catcher for at least the next 5-6 years. Although his athleticism may deteriorate, dude can rake and is great defensively.
Catchers break down quickly. I’d expect at best 4 years of being a “prime catcher.” No way is he still one of the best for at least 6 years. Not to say he won’t still be a top 15, but he won’t be a top 5. Posey got a 8 year deal, in part, to pay for past performance and to give him a chance to be a career Giant. Neither applies to JTR. I wouldn’t go more than 5 years, 125/135.
They do break down but as demonstrated with all time greats such as Pudge Rodriguez, Mike Piazza and Yadi Molina, it is possible for Catchers to be great for more than a decade. 5 years from now, gooood chance Realmuto is still a good hitter at the very least and a good defensive catcher. He’s arguably the best in MLB right now… Even if he’s top 10 in 5-6 years, he’s worth that money. No way Realmuto accepts less than 6 years at least 20 million a year when guys like Harper are getting 25 mil for THIRTEEN years.
Harper’s contract has nothing to do with this. Philly’s getting 7-8 prime years of an OF in that instance. Pudge and Piazza were also using PEDs and still declined in their age 32 & 33 seasons. JTR has about 3 prime years left.
Yeah, he owes it to the union to wait out the offseason and secure the biggest deal he can get. Could come from the Phillies but could also come from someone else.
McCutchen and Wheeler should be added to that list of core players. I agree with the sentiment that players like JT and Mookie Betts will lose millions. However, keeping the best catcher in the game is the Phillies #1 priority and im confident they will hammer out a deal. They gave up too much and Middleton is not cheap. I think it’s going to be 5/120 when it’s all said and done. Could see Realmuto even moving to a corner infield spot ala Todd Ziele towards the end of that contract.
He’s not quite Grandal as a hitter but probably better defensively and he’s a bit younger. Something slightly north of Grandal’s deal sounds reasonable.
he’s absolutly better than Grandal as a hitter. he’s a much more well-rounded hitter, Grandal simply hits a few more bombs a year.
What they gave up has nothing to do with signing him. There was no formal or informal agreement that he’d sign with Philly long-term if they traded for him.
I think he gets more like 112/4 or 140/5 with an opt out after 2 or 3.
Baseball Reference’s Similar Batters through 28: of ten players, 2 became HOFers. The other eight post 28 yo record is not worth much of an extension!
Is Realmuto Gabby Hartnett or Carlton Fisk, or is he A. J. Pierzynski who is the best of the 8 and accumulated less than 12 WAR in 11 seasons after the age of 28, averaging 1.1 WAR and $5.1 million per year.
If he gets more than $10M per year, and he probably will, he won’t come close to earning it, and will never see another >4 WAR in a year.
those comparisons dont factor in defense. JTR is also baseball’s best defensive catcher, (and by association its best overall defender) and can squat behind the plate for longer then any other catcher can.
Make it happen, Philly. Don’t screw this up!