After years of anticipation, the Phillies have formally locked catcher J.T. Realmuto in as a member of their long-term core. The Phillies announced Friday that they’ve re-signed Realmuto to a five-year contract that will reportedly guarantee the CAA client $115.5MM. The contract is said to pay Realmuto $20MM for the coming season and then $23.875MM per year from 2022-25. The deal includes award bonuses, and Realmuto will earn $1MM each time he’s traded, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.
The $23.1MM average annual value is the highest given to any catcher in baseball history, slightly topping the previous $23MM standard set by Joe Mauer in his eight-year, $184MM extension with the Twins back in March 2010. Several previous reports indicated that Realmuto was looking to raise the bar on catcher salaries with his next contract, and while topping Mauer or Buster Posey in terms of pure dollars was perhaps going to be a stretch even before the COVID-19 pandemic impacted baseball’s finances, Realmuto did end up setting at least one new benchmark.
Realmuto is now slated to remain in Philadelphia through at least the 2025 season, ending an extended negotiating process about his long-term future that seemed to begin almost as soon as the Phillies acquired him in a blockbuster trade with the Marlins in February 2019. While the two sides had mutual interest in an extension, talks were halted last spring due to the pandemic-induced roster freeze, and then it seemed as if Realmuto seemed more open to considering other options as his free agency approached. Since the Phils spent the early weeks of the offseason overhauling their front office and seemingly putting looking to cut spending, it increased speculation that Realmuto would be playing elsewhere in 2021.
However, the hiring of Dave Dombrowski (no stranger to big payrolls) as the team’s new president of baseball operations seemed to indicate that owner John Middleton wasn’t entirely looking to cut costs. Most reports in recent weeks seemed to hint that the Phillies were again the favorites for Realmuto, both because the team was willing to pay up, and also perhaps because Realmuto’s market was shrinking.
The Mets made an early exit from the Realmuto hunt by signing James McCann, and other speculative candidates like the Angels (Kurt Suzuki) and Astros (Jason Castro) made lower-cost catching additions, while the Yankees seem content to stay with Gary Sanchez. The Nationals, Blue Jays, and Braves were also reportedly interested in Realmuto, though Toronto was perhaps done with top-tier contracts after landing George Springer, and Washington has seemingly opted on a strategy of spreading its money around on signings like Brad Hand and Kyle Schwarber rather than make a big splurge on a single star.
Regardless, Realmuto will now stay in a familiar and comfortable environment, and the Phillies will keep the consensus choice as the game’s best catcher. Realmuto is a two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner, with a .282/.336/.466 slash line and 85 home runs in 2443 plate appearances with Miami and Philadelphia since the start of the 2016 season. The odd nature of the 2020 season didn’t slow Realmuto down at all, as he continued to produce at the plate and also posted outstanding framing numbers (as per Statcast).
While he is entering his age-30 season, Realmuto’s track record is strong enough that a five-year contract doesn’t seem like too much of a risk. MLBTR projected Realmuto for five years and $125MM, while ranking him second on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents.
With Realmuto back in the fold, the question now turns to what else might be in store for Dombrowski and new general manager Sam Fuld. As per Roster Resource, the Phillies have a projected payroll of $171.2MM for next season (not counting Realmuto’s $10MM in deferrals) and a luxury tax number just shy of $179.48MM. It isn’t yet clear if Realmuto was the one big signing Middleton was willing to stretch the budget to land, or if Philadelphia still has room for another notable acquisition — perhaps a reunion with Didi Gregorius, or another arm for the rotation or bullpen.
Craig Mish of SportsGrid first reported the agreement and the terms of the contract (Twitter link). USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb and The Athletic’s Jayson Stark all added some further financial details (all Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Overpay. Phillies monopolizing that market, it seems.
WHAT FIRST COMMENT POGGERS
A swing and a miss
omegalul
Not a real word. Use real words. Allow me to respond in a way that you will understand- bruh bawaha lol bet meh omegalul
Oh yeah? Well goga bla baha omegalul blappum.
Great! They can go .500 again.
Absolute steal. Nicely done Phillies.
Not sure you understand what a steal is
As clueless as every other Shobee coming down the expressway in July
Cape May?
So weak
Ugh!!! congrats Philly. I was hoping DC would be a landing spot
YESSIR
Nicely done, now get back into the playoffs after a decade.
About time what took so long no one else wanted him. Once Mets got McCann it was inevitable JT going back to Philadelphia
typical NY comment..
Agree DDB ‘ typical, logical, informed…
Sign Didi and call it a day. What’s the definition of insanity.
Lol @ Realmuto for overplaying his hand and misreading the market horribly.
Or maybe he didn’t want to play for a loser team like the Mets lol
You also just Lol’d at a guy who got $100 million dollars. Weirdo.
I won’t argue the Mets as a loser team since they have been that, we’ll see after this year.
As of calling me a weirdo? Are you in 3rd grade? You revert to name calling? Grow up kid, I laughed at the man, not because he’s probably got more money than all of us combined, its because he overplayed his hand.
Read and think before you blurt.
getting the highest AAV for a catcher is “overplaying” his hand? OK dude.
Id rather have Realmuto at that contract than Mcann at his.
So you rather have horseship than dogship? Not a great endorsement there!
He got 9.5 million less than his asking price. The only “Lol” is your stupid post.
Wasn’t the original offer from the Phillies $105mm? So I’d say they came to decent market agreement. Good deal for both sides.
How exactly did he do that?
How did he misread the market? He got paid $100MM+. That seemed to be his market. 5-6 years at $100-140MM.
Yep badly overplayed his hand. Thought he was a Big Sw D catcher who could reset the catching salary benchmarks. Nope those guys are Posey and Mauer and they’re better ballplayers. A bit of hubris cost him $30- $40 million
Massive, massive underpay, the best C in MLB deserves much more than this. Any player who can say they are #1 at their position deserves at least $200M. Good for Philly though!
Yes, but if not for Covid, he, along with guys like LeMahieu, Springer and soon to be Bauer would’ve definitely all got larger deals.
Eatdust, I agree with that..revenues were down and I expect they will be again on this coming season..even with limited plans allowed into the stadiums..
*Travis D’Arnaud has entered the chat*
*Travis D’Arnaud sees that Realmuto is literally 5x the player he is and has left the chat*
Salvador Perez had the highest total WAR for catchers in 2020.
Nice player, not replicating 2020 going forward
Astute comment, as usual, Darkside. Unless you’ve built yourself a little time machine in your mom’s basement, I don’t believe that you will be able to replicate 2020 either.
Don’t expect darkside to understand such complex concepts. Or even basic english. Have you seen his 1 billion comments? He’s borderline illiterate.
No I would say this is a very good deal for Realmuto. Catcher is a volatile position and this contract will likely look ugly for the Phillies after the 3rd year
You misspelled 2nd.
Is he number #1 for 5 years?
From Opening Day 2017-present, yes Realmuto has been #1.
And he’s now over 30, and OPS’ 820. By year three he will be in the mid 700s making 23/year. Not worth it at all. We overpaid for McCann but it’s far more palatable. JTR is the best C, but being the best piece of poo isn’t saying much.
says the Mets Phan who was screaming that Cohen was gonna get J T before McCann…all you NYers sound the same..
Not when the position doesn’t pay well across the league.
I’m quite surprised as well. JTR was valued much higher overall as the #1 C on many leaderboards for several seasons, and was asking for nearly $200 million.
It’s incredible that he accepted ~$85 million less, but good for the Phillies and their fans. It is obvious the market was simply not there for him, whether covid-driven (most likely) or some other tangible factors. This was their offseason priority and they got him, whether they got a deal, or paid too much. Congratulations Phightin’ Phillies, let’s get this season going!
Lol yankmyclipper – he accepted the best offer currently on the table. Said offer = ~ [$115 + $20 (2019 & 2020) +$25(2026)] << $190 he was originally offered
He thought he was the 2nd coming of Posey / Mauer and would get $200M.
The market place said wrong biotch. So don’t pass go, don;t collect an extra $30 million.
He won't go hungry, but he has to reference Sprewell's fiasco to find same order of magnitude in both dumb rhetoric and lost earnings
Braves gonna Brave
AA gonna AA.
overrAAted
Marty McGravy = overWEIGHT!
The Braves didn’t need JT.
He would’ve been a luxury, not a necessity. d’Arnaud, Contreras, and Langliers are a good group. Plus, Atlanta has long term deals coming up for Freddie, Fried, Soroka, and Swanson. They still also need a starting LF, another bat, and another bullpen arm.
Phinally they get it done!
Great deal for him. Sure he’ll enjoy getting October off for the next 5 years.
I wonder if the completely bogus Braves rumors caused the Phillies to add an extra $5 mil. Anyway, happy to see the Phillies still trying to win in a tough division. If they add a SS and some pitching depth, they can be a playoff team. NL East is going to be a blast.
Even so I think they ultimately saved about $35M by just waiting him out and realizing the rest of JT’s “market” was just a mirage.
yeah in hindsight all the haters on Klentak were wrong about this one
How so?
In hindsight you should have taken the opportunity to edit your comment.
If it did — worth it. lol
I wonder if the Photoshop jobs of Realmuto in a Braves uni not wearing his #10 (Chipper) set DD off.
Yes, If they can sign DeeDee and a solid starter, they should be competitive..I still feel the Braves are the best in the East,
I remain convinced they do not have to address center field..
DeeDee get out of my laboratory!
Got that extra 100k/year just because of Mauer.
He just had to beat that previous high AAV of $23 million by a smidge didn’t he??
And I’d kill to make $100 grand a year….
but the taxes will kill you.
Braves still the best team in the Division until they trade Acuna and Freeman to Yankees
Phillies still 3rd best team in the division…
we’re up to third? great!
A delusional yankees fan, shocker
What’s wrong with that?
Great move by phillies, I will give the FO credit I didn’t think he would resign.
Good job Phils. You have done what you needed to do this winter, and it couldn’t have been done without Dombro. You know why? He has balls. He doesn’t sissy out on trying to sign an expensive player; instead, he goes after them with all he has. Good job Philly, you have retained the best catcher in baseball for another 5 years.
?
JTR was signing with the Phillies as soon as the NYY and NYms signed their catchers. It had nothing to do with DD.
Joebrady quit sniffing glue, your ignorant comments are showing.
Moonlight stop attacking people. Learn how to debate like an adult. When in doubt agree to disagree and move on.
This from the 40 year-old that is catfishing as a high schooler for attention. Yikes!
Had 5/110 to Philly before DD
The DD arrival almost made this a formality
Good job Philly
What are you guys seeing? 3rd ? 4th? It’s hard to predict. Ik the marlins are a lock for 5!
Bingo! I’m on a three player FA streak!
Pretty fair price for both parties. I can’t see JT staying behind the plate for more than 2 years or so, but the RH bat plays at 1B and (inevitable) DH.
And yes, I think DD did some butt kicking to get it done.
He’s going to be 30, not 36.
How can a top rated poster say JT Realmuto will not be catching in 2 years?
A ~120 wRC+ (assuming he doesn’t regress over those 2 years) doesn’t really stack up well @ 1b, especially not for what they’re paying him. If they only get 2 years of him at C, this is going to be a pretty awful contract.
I’m glad he’s back in Philly, it makes each of the NL East teams more competitive and fighting for a playoffs spot. That division is going to be the most competitive in baseball! Good on JTR for getting paid, and sticking to his guns when this market was not favorable to players
PinstripedPride
Good on JTR for getting paid, and sticking to his guns when this market was not favorable to players
=============================================================
He got a fair price, but this market has been very good to the players. Virtually everyone has signed above what MLB-R has predicted.
Realmuto signed for less than what they predicted
Braves were only going to sign him on the CHEAP … Now They Have To Deal With The Fall Out From d’ARNAUD
They’ll sign him to an extension and he’ll outperform JTR
They’re not signing him to an extension when 2 of their top-7 prospects are catchers, including 2019 1st rd pick: Shea Langeliers – one of the top defensive C prospects in MLB.
…plus D’arnaud isnt nearly as good as JT.
D’arnaud isn’t even in the conversation with realamuto. He had a career 60 games
There’s never been a sentence that started with 3 periods. You should just scratch out your comments on the sides of cave walls.
FAKEMUTO
Beats the AAV for catchers by $100k HAHA players are funny. Why is this so important to them.
Ego and agent bragging rights. That is all.
And next offseason it will be eclipsed again. It is quite silly to hang one’s hat on that premise. Good point.
but there is a clause that he has to buy $100k of Middletons cigars each season so its actually a wash.
@Scott Brewer, baseball players have a strong union. It sets the market for the next guy so player salaries don’t stay stagnant. The union gets pissed when guys take below value deals that’s just more incentive for owners not to pay the next guy.
I doubt it makes a difference. Teams pay what they can afford, and for the value they receive. JTR getting paid $100k more than Mauer did ten years ago is an ego trip more than anything else.
I’m pretty sure this is my first correct prediction haha
Good. Great. I hope.
I also hope Middleton let’s Dombrowski put enough around JT, Harper, Nola, and Wheeler to actually compete.
As it is now, this still feels like a 3rd or 4th place team trying to chase after the 8-seed that might not exist.
The Phillies upped their offer from $110 million to $115 million in a bidding war against themselves????? A team that was awful last year with the worst defense and bullpen in baseball that has done nothing to address those needs.
Bingo!! No other team was dumb enough to pay this much, hey good for his agent though!!
Theoretically, every single player that signs, is signed for more than anyone else offered. It is the nature of an auction.
relax, 1 mil a year doesnt make an ounce of difference in the grand scheme of things…they are well below the luxury tax, and its not your money, so nothing to worry about
Yup 1 mill more a yr to MAKE sure –
This is a poker game going on here ; and if you want to win a big pot your going to have to push some chips around. Small potatoes in the end
It’s also a negotiation. There are plenty of times where I buy something I like, or sell. You know approximately a fair price is. Both sides push a little. Eventually, one of the sides whether or not to push a little more, hoping there is wiggle room, or to take the latest offer because they still like the deal.
The best way to get a good deal is to not insist on a perfect deal.
Wow, thank you @joebrady!! That lesson on negotiation was invaluable…
Way overrated, and now with a salary to match. Both Salvy Perez and The Fresh Prince of The Dodgers are better.
Salvy is not better than Realmuto
At best, he’s a slightly better defender and much weaker hitter.
Perez has never played a full 162 game season and had an OPS+ above 110.
you need a reality check if you think Smith is that good
Pirates…you missed out.
Great deal for the Phillies. Dave really knows how to do business.
LOL Mets as Sandy Alderson misread the market and delivered Realmuto on a Silver platter to the Phillies at a deep discount 5 yrs. $ 115.5 MM. Alderson overpaid McCann a historical backup catcher at 4 years $ 40 MM thereby taking the Mets out of the catcher market. Then by losing out on George Springer to the Blue Jays, Alderson then took the Blue Jays out of the market for Realmuto. Well done!
Alderson didn’t misread the catching market. They clearly wanted McCann from the onset, and what they gave him was necessary to get him. In a vacuum, I’d call it a bit of an overpay, but that’s just how the market works sometimes. You’re also omitting the Lindor & Carrasco trade, which likely made them more hesitant to get into a legitimate bidding war with the Jays.
The Mets probably did inadvertently help the Phillies reel in Realmuto, but I don’t think it’s a case of them Metsing it up. They’ve had a strong offseason that has just looked differently than fans and pundits envisioned.
Three dimensional chess. Mets wanted Springer, Realmuto or Bauer at the beginning of the offseason. Lindor is just a one year rental and the Mets had a young cost controlled plus SS in Gimenez so SS wasn’t a real need as much as catcher, SP, RP, CF & 3B. How many Springers will it take to sign Lindor 2, 2.5, or 3 Springers? He may go FA in a year no long term guaranty.
GREAT NEWS. This is the only good thing that has come about b/c of covid-19. If this was a regular off-season, klentak messed it up so bad they wouldn’t have been able to sign him due to trying to low-balling him.
JT was always going to hit the open market unless blown away with an offer. we dont know what Klentak offered, bit it could have been solidly more then this.
dammit i was looking forward to lots of Andrew Knapp tough at bats this season.
I’d go as far as to call Knapp’s plate discipline as “elite”. Anyone outside of Philly wouldnt know probably. Knapp is one of the better backup catchers in baseball.
The Phillies have a lot of holes to fill yet.
PSA: This signing doesn’t justify the trade. He still would have signed with the Phillies if they hadn’t traded for him first.
@jimthegoat I agree that it doesn’t justify the trade, but I disagree with the second part. Had he not played in Philly, developed a huge friendship with Harper and his family, he may not have wanted to play here. I also don’t think the Phillies would have been players for JT in this market had he not already been a part of their team.
“Had he not played in Philly, developed a huge friendship with Harper and his family, he may not have wanted to play here.”
Sure he would have. He signed with the highest bidder just like most free agents do. He wasn’t going to take a paycut to sign elsewhere if the Phillies didn’t make the trade.
“I also don’t think the Phillies would have been players for JT in this market had he not already been a part of their team.”
That wouldn’t mean they couldn’t sign him. It would mean they simply chose not to. There’s a difference.
Think we’re just arguing about semantics essentially. But I certainly agree that it doesn’t justify trade.
Trade Values has Sixto at a $63.6m surplus value. That is how big of a discount JT would have had to take to stay in Philly in order to justify the trade (Alfaro and Stewart are non-factors)
Hopefully they can still afford a bottom of the rotation SP, a SS and 1 or 2 more RP.
Congratulations to the Phillies and their fans. Realmuto was a necessary piece from everything I have read here.
But given that he was on the team last year, does this signing really move the dial? And do the Phillies have enough money to fill their other holes?
@Angels & NL West Last year their bullpen was historically bad. They’ve made some moves addressing that, but still have a long way to go.
I won’t argue the Mets as a loser team since they have been that, we’ll see after this year.
As of calling me a weirdo? Are you in 3rd grade? You revert to name calling? Grow up kid, I laughed at the man, not because he’s probably got more money than all of us combined, its because he overplayed his hand.
Read and think before you blurt.
I feel as if you should post that a few more times..twice isn’t enough
Dave Dombrowski is no stranger to bad deals…. i think Prince Fielder is still getting paid.
…by Texas
Great deal. Best catcher in baseball deserved it and allows Phillies to move on from the narrative that a cheap team like the Braves might sign him. Now just need to get jbj and semien
The next move for Philly and Dombrowski is the find a taker for Segura and perhaps go after Semien or Simmons. With Segura being owed $14.85-mil per year over the next 2 years they’d be fine paying one of the other SS a little less over 2021.
Perhaps tall order but this has to be considered.
Segura isnt going anywhere with arguably three better SS on the market that can be had for less.
Great day for Phillies fans! Anybody who says he’s overrated has clearly never seen him play. And big thing is he’s absolutely beloved by everybody on the team and basically the entire fanbase. Letting him go would have been a huge loss.
I thought the Mets getting McCann would have really killed his market. I’m surprised the Phillies paid him this much. Makes me wonder what other offers he was getting.
Shocker! Not really, but I thought for a couple of minutes that he might’ve ended up taking a 1yr massive AAV deal with the braves. That was until I remembered that JT would be 31 going into 2022 so it wouldn’t be smart at all for Realmuto to take a 1 year deal. Also, If the Braves are ever rumored to do anything there is a 99% chance that they aren’t. I bet Bauer is going to sign with the Mets by this weekend.
I’d rather pay$23M for the best catcher in the game than $10M for a BUC.
Word up. Thread full of haters. Best C in the game by a mile and a half.
When your team signs a free agent and people are talking it down in these threads, then they are fans of other teams and they’re concerned that the competition just got stronger. I’m not a Phillies fan, but Realmuto is a stud on both sides of the ball. Give me a high probability 4-5 win catcher every time. Five years is also an acceptable length for a catcher as it only takes him up to 34/35.
Honestly, this kind of frustrating if you’re a Braves fan. 1st, we are all teased with the rumor we might get JT. Of course, we don’t believe it cause the Braves don’t make moves like this. BUT your hopes go up nonetheless… 2nd, you want the Phillies grab a guy you full well know is an elite player and someone we have been targeting for YEARS. Likely our biggest on field rival, and they get better by keeping this guy. It’s a double whammy.
Maybe we drove the price up a little on JT. Hope we did at least
Signing JT Realmuto for $23.1 AAV is a mistake the Phillies needed to make
Why’s all that?
It’s a mistake because it is likely his physical tools will age poorly. He is 30 years old and coming off of a hip injury. The position he plays takes an enormous physical toll on the player, and catchers usually regress badly. If he has to move away from catching, his bat doesn’t profile well at 1B or DH. Potentially paying $23.1m in 2026 for a light-hitting DH is not ideal.
However, they have to sign him because he is good now and helps the team win now. If they didn’t, there would have been an incendiary reaction from the fans and they would be buried in the standings for the foreseeable future.
So they have to sign a player to a contract that they know is a mistake? That makes no sense. And as far as the reaction from fans, in order to be a good GM or PBO you have to completely tune all of that out.
For the record I don’t actually think this contract is all that bad. I just take issue with the idea that they HAD to sign him because they traded Sixto for him. The two are separate and irrelevant transactions.
No they aren’t.
They most certainly are.
Especially when the person that traded for him isn’t the same one making this decision.
Hes about to be 30. Be 35 when this is up, prolly move too first base by yhen or traded. Idk
Health is always the key, but he’s been durable. Beyond that, I see no reason why someone who is a strong defensive catcher and an excellent athlete will not be catching entering season 5 when he’s 34. Yadier Molina is going to sign a contract to catch at 38, Kurt Suzuki just signed a contract to catch at 37. Jorge Posada caught a World Series championship team at 38. Martin Maldonado and Jason Castro are both in their mid-30s and will be catching next year, and they can’t even hit. Realmuto is a plus defensive catcher who can hit. The assumption he’s going to burst into a ball of dust in the next couple seasons is unfounded.
@robm, good job buddy! Your 5 anecdotal examples outweighs 50 years of data that covers thousands of players that prove most catchers do not age well. Great job proving all of them wrong with their newfangled math and statistics, you’re the real genius who should be running a baseball team!!!
@Cracker, I didn’t realize there was anyone here who actually cared about the statistical side related to the aging curve of catchers. As has been shown, for catchers it’s more of a curve than a collapse. Catchers as a group maintain their peak through their age-31 season, although most are not in as an elite a group as Realmuto. That means Realmuto statistically could have two more peak seasons coming when compared to catchers as a group. That would take him through the first two years of his contract, yet he’s better than the aggregate. When we provide context and compare him to a more elite group, which is where he fits, the compare group players are generally still catching at age 35 and still producing at a minimum of 2.5 fWAR, which would still make him worth in the low $20M range based on the cost of a win. I’m sure the Philies will be fine with that five years on.
Glad to have found another statistically minded poster. This is exciting, Cracker.
I love all the idiots chiming in with comments of overpaying, still a 4th place team, bidding against themselves, etc. If this would have dragged out and JT ended up in Wash on a similar deal or, for example, Atl on a short term/high avg deal, then all the same idiots would’ve been slamming the Phils for not doing everything they could to bring him back. Fact is they had to bring him back, this is a fair deal for both sides, and barring a historically bad bullpen (which although not finished has been addressed and improved) I expect them to play meaningful ball at least until the end of the season. Realistically they are probably 3rd in the division, but if lady luck smiles on them and pisses on the Braves and Mets then it might get interesting. We’ll see.
It was a horrific decision to sign Realmuto let alone overpay when bidding against yourself. Philadelphia needs to again do a full rebuild. Philadelphia is the poster child for the fact that you cannot build a winning team through free agency. Nola is the only significant player they have that came from the Philly farm system. The result ….. a bad roster that is full of holes and overpaid players. Bryce Harper, Zach Wheeler, J.T. Realmuto, Andrew McCutcheon …….. Overpaid for everyone of them. Remember the Jake Arrieta deal? How did the Jean Seguro trade work out? The David Robertson signing? Worst defense and bullpen in baseball. Who is in the rotation after Nola and Wheeler? But hey, you got Realmuto back!
Alec Bohm…mike drop!
@dadsindaniabeach, yeah you showed them! That very large 160 at bat sample size predicts with 100% certainty that Bohm will be elected to the HOF when he retires…mic drop (spelled correctly this time)
OMG..so sorry I annoyed a spelling police kid..get over it..I make up new words all the time..not something for you to get your panties all in a twist..
Bohm is the most natural looking hitter I’ve seen in a long time..not in love with pulling the ball..has hit everywhere he’s ever been and should have been the ROY..
The issue with him is he’s not very good defensively…
I think they’re probably still a 4th place team. The nats have a chance to implode though if their rotation sees injuries…but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Philly still finished 4th in that division.
Not a phillies fan but this feels like a great deal for them. Congrats to the phillies fans.
If the bullpen is better this year and can add another mid starter they can compete in this division.
This division may struggle to get a 90 win team with how good the entire division is.
I have it…
Braves
Mets
Nats
Phillies
Marlins
With that said which team makes the best moves the rest of the offseason may decide it.
Braves
Mets
Marlins
Nats
Phillies
This JTR signing didn’t tip the scales in the Phillies favor. We already know what that team is when he’s on it, and it’s mediocre, at best. (Not JTR’s fault but the team is fairly top heavy in contracts which has left the team with a pretty mediocre half of a roster. Outside of JTR, Harper, Nola and Wheeler this team isn’t above average anywhere else
Probably the most anticlimactic signing of the winter. From the moment the Mets signed James McCann we knew JTR was going back to the Phillies
Yes, although I would say the Yankees signing DJ LeMahiue was even more anticlimactic.
At least there was a market for LeMahieu and the possibility he could have signed elsewhere. Realmuto’s market literally closed when the Mets signed McCann
@Rsox That’s not true. The Nats, Blue Jays, Angels, Astros, Mariners and Tigers all have money to spend and a need at the position. Heck, I could even see some team that already has a catcher deciding to sign the “best catcher in baseball” and flipping their incumbent catcher to fill a need elsewhere.
Fair contract for both sides. Hope JT stays healthy throughout. Should be easier if DH comes to NL to stay.
I hope that Sam Fuld’s opinion is valued in this organization. That Fuld is given room to redirect Drombowski’s ideations. The Phillies cannot be competitive long term by following the Pat Gillick / Dave Drombowski playbook.
Congratulations to the NL East for having the most competitive division. You get to watch exciting games during the regular season.
Fuld probably knows the value JT provides more then anyone in that organization that isnt pitching to him
This is a good deal for Philly, imo. He is a key cog catching and batting cleanup. And $23M for a 4 WAR catcher is more than reasonable. My guess is that he out-earns his contract for at least 3 years, maybe 4 years.
Now they need to focus on the BP. or wind up trading with Boston for their treasured RPs.
As for this contract, 5 years was basically the floor for him considering James McCann, an catcher player who is a year older than JT, got 4 years. And Realmuto certainly wasn’t going to sign a 1-year pillow contract. Pillow contracts are for players coming off down seasons. Realmuto did his usual thing in 2020 and would be a year older when that pillow contract was up. The AAV seems about right for a player of his caliber.
Supposed to say “James McCann, an inferior catcher who is a year older than JT…”
@jimthegoat I’m a huge fan of your posts and the numbers you dig into. Much appreciated.
<3
A lot of free agents get faked out by the vast overpays made by a handful of teams and think they will get one as well. It’s all about timing and when the big boys are ready to spend. I guess the Phillies decided to be big boys awhile longer and got their man. How is it bad to sign an excellent catcher? If you can win without one. At the very least you need some defense back there. So I say it’s a solid move but still many holes to Phil.
nice deal. spreads out the money effectively.
World Series now? lol
Classic Overpay !!!! Thank you Phl
Dont hate, its bad
Not an overpay at all. Some teams are willing to actually, you know, spend money to try to win games.
I like JT but 31 and handing this money and term to a catcher.
The Phillies we’re 5th in 2020 scoring runs..Bringing
J T back was that important..for those that continue to slam Segura, I don’t get it..he hits close to .300 every year..while he fell off last year could be an outlier..he’s a better 2nd baseman than Kingery…
RUNS PER GAME 2020
1 LA Dodgers 5.77
2 Atlanta 5.62
3 NY Yankees 5.39
4 San Diego 5.35
5 Philadelphia 5.10
The Phillies score runs……….what they need is pitching and after that, more pitching..when they are done getting some pitchers, they might want to get more pitchers..Get It?
Nova’s era and runs scored will be the same. Will make for interesting games.
Nice stat Dads. They all go to playoffs this year except Philadelphia
Except if they had any pitching, they might have been a wild card..Yes, those others went to the playoffs…ummmm they had pitching or enough pitching..
Addressing the pitching staff would have helped. After Nola and Wheeler it’s three #5 starters
@joeyrocafella Eflin is a real good #3. Very underrated. So I’d not dismiss him. As for #4 and #5? You’re spot on.
Does anyone even bother to do any research before they post? Eflin is a solid+ #3. Howard is a well-regarded prospect with 6 starts to his name, and likely a solid #4+.
No, never much research by the majority of these homer posters unfortunately.
Would have liked to see the jays in there even after Springer. Could have handled this deal easily. Moved surplus catching for pitching. Ah well
Phillies are a pretty hard team to be happy for.
Realmuto is a much better investment than Springer. Good outfielders aren’t hard to find, but great catchers are rare.
Hopefully the money is good cuz the Phillies aren’t winning anytime this decade.
Im down with it. 5 years, less than $25m AAV for the best catcher in the game.
Lets just bring in one more starter, some bullpen guys and maybe an infielder.
Congrats Phillies phans. Bet you fellas are excited.
Realmuto is an elite free agent & ya gotta pay to play. Payroll less than 180 MM, too. Shouldn’t be much of a problem to rebuild/build that pen. Although your GM has a rather sketchy track record in that regard.
No matter.
Good signing. He makes any team in MLB better, serious.
Your comment is spot-on, DBF. Great signing for a team that’s actually trying to win.
So a few were trashing the Phillies defensive…I checked and boy were they right…I knew they weren’t particularly good, but did not realize the depth of their phutality.
But, do not gloat Met phans..
In the National League:
3rd worst:::::Mets with -20 runs saved.
2nd worst:::Phillies with -33 runs saved—-OUCH!
worst in NL::The Nationals with -45 runs saved..who knew? LOL!
Amazing how fast the price dropped on JT. Before the season ended he was looking for 200+Million. I think this was a good signing for Philly.
Overpay. Phillies still a .500 team.
Not even close to an overpay. Do you want them to just give up because they’re “still a .500 team?”
It’s not the worst overpay but pretty bad for a team who should be spending on much needed pitching so they aren’t a .500 team.
So, more than a few haters kept saying that JT was on the wrong side of 30..he will be 30 by the start of the season..yep, ready for that ole rocking chair..
Just for the record, Realmuto is the fastest catcher in the game, and if he should lose a few steps in the coming years, he will still be fast..
Yes >30 for MLB catchers is not good statistically. And what does Realmuto being “fast” (not sure how you can even prove this, did you witness some sort of MLB catcher 100m dash or something?) prove at all? When you break down, it happens fast and quick. No amount of “speed” will help him overcome that. Carl Crawford was “fast” and stole 400+ bases before age 30. A few years later he was out of the game after signing a big contract. His speed didn’t help him either.
My only source is that I have this habit of getting the other teams feeds when I watch the games..been doing that for years because I hate homer’s, even my fav teams announcers..I get that fast stuff from others not involved with the Phillies..
Try not to be a smart ass..it’s unbecoming..
Realmuto is the best catcher in the game and still in his prime. The contract is worth every penny.
How does Carl Crawford, a player who relied on his speed for much of his value, have anything to do with JT Realmuto?
That’s A LOT of money for a catcher. They must be confident their staff can get them through the regulator season in the tough division and in players filling holes As it stands now, are they better than a .500 team in 2021? They haven’t been the last 2 years with Harper and co.
Blue Jays just got Marcus Semien..seems they do want to get better..good for them
Shouldn’t this article title be Phillies Re-sign J.T. Realmuto?
I honestly prefer it this way. Highlights the fact that he’s just another free agent.
Michael Brantley was too though. The article on him was “Astros “re-sign Michael Brantley” Not a big deal just something I noticed.
Brantley signed with the Astros as a free agent, then re-signed. JT was traded to the Phillies.
For the past few years, the Phillies have had a horrid time beating the Guppies..no matter what, the NL East is a strong division…should be fun for us lovin baseball phans
Congrats Philly Phans! JTR is a heck of a ball player; one that literally everyone would love to have. The cynics would argue for him if it was the other way around. For whatever reason, it’s hard for people to feel happy for others and enjoy the daze.
I agree Bob. The Phillies made an excellent deal for the best catcher in the game. His ZIPS projections are excellent for the next few seasons. But of course a lot of the homers on this forum don’t pay much attention to advanced stats. They’re just jealous because their own cheapskate teams won’t pay up for talent.
Been fun..nite Moon Cracker…when you get a chance, don’t forget to sew the holes in your pockets..it’ll keep you from going blind..
Haha!
Atlanta was never a serious suitor here, but they still have a big lineup hole to fill. Either Ozuna gets re-signed or they need to move someone into the leadoff spot and have Acuna bat in the middle of the order. It appears to be down to Marcell or the Pederson/Rosario tier of FAs. Unless there is any kind of validity to the Cleveland Jose Ramirez rumor.
$10 million of the 2021 salary is deferred. I have a gut feeling that is their remaining operational budget for this offseason.
To actually beat Mauer’s deal in today’s dollars, he would’ve needed to get a 5 year/$126.5M deal. He actually fell short by a full $2.2M per year going by equivalency dollars.
Glad my Phils signed a quality player who should help the team. But keep in mind we’re essentially bringing the same band back together who underachieved both seasons he’s been on the team. They have a lot of holes to fill but felt compelled to outbid themselves to make the player happy. Well if this $$$ hamstrings us from making more necessary moves, I will surely not be happy. Such is the life of a Phillies fan.
Glad my Phils signed a quality player who should help the team. But keep in mind we’re essentially bringing the same band back together who underachieved both seasons he’s been on the team. They have a lot of holes to fill but felt compelled to outbid themselves to make the player happy. Well if this $$$ hamstrings us from making more necessary moves, I will surely not be happy. Such is the life of a Phillies fan.
His salary equals 470 first responders and about 1000 military personnel, soldiers and sailors and airmen and marines. Next time we are under attack or our house is burning we can call a catcher.
That statement is idiotic at best….grab yourself by the collar and shake
No. Call an owner! They are ones writing these checks so imagine how many first responders and sailors equal a Steinbrenner!
Years ?
With Nolan Arenado and money going to the Cardinals, how cool would it be to see Charlie Blackmon and money come to the Phillies in a trade? CF would turn into a strength.