Initially expected to make his Spring Training debut as a designated hitter this afternoon, J.T. Realmuto wound up scratched from the lineup. It seems there’s no cause for alarm, with Phillies manager Joe Girardi saying the star catcher just had some general body soreness after working in a simulated game yesterday (via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com). The Phillies continue to hope Realmuto will be available on Opening Day, with Girardi reiterating to MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link) that “the important day (in his recovery) is April 1.” Realmuto suffered a fracture in his right thumb last month.
More from the National League:
- Like Realmuto, Padres catcher Austin Nola is recovering from a broken digit (in his case, a fractured left middle finger). Nola will test his ability to grip a bat in the next couple days, says manager Jayce Tingler, who expressed some optimism the backstop could be ready for Opening Day (via Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune). It seems the more likely outcome is a brief injured list stint, as Acee notes the typical timeline for a return from similar injuries is four-to-six weeks. Nola suffered his break March 13, a little less than three weeks before the season opener. If the 31-year-old indeed hits the IL, the Padres would open with a Víctor Caratini/Luis Campusano catching tandem.
- Rockies reliever Tyler Kinley has been sidelined the past two weeks with left oblique soreness, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Kinley is scheduled to throw a simulated game tomorrow but manager Bud Black acknowledged a season-opening injured list stint is a possibility. Bullpen mate Scott Oberg looks likely to be on the Opening Day roster, Black says (via Saunders). That’s welcome news, as the quality right-hander missed the entire 2020 season due to recurring blood clots in his throwing arm. Oberg underwent thoracic outlet surgery last September.
- Nicky Delmonico went to high school with Reds centerfielder Nick Senzel, and they may have a chance to be teammates in Cincinnati. Delmonico is 6-for-17 in Spring Training after signing a minor league deal. That performance, as well as his ability to play first base, has the Reds considering selecting the non-roster invitee’s contract, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Shogo Akiyama will start the year on the injured list, and with first baseman Joey Votto uncertain for Opening Day after contracting COVID-19, Delmonico’s particular brand of versatility may fit the bill. In four seasons with the White Sox, Delmonico owns a .224/.312/.384 triple slash line across 574 plate appearances with a 24.0 percent strikeout rate and solid 9.8 percent walk rate.
Philis did well negotiating with realmuto but I like the Perez signing better. Reward your loyal players and retain your team leader.
Contracts wise past 2 seasons –
Perez
Realmuto
Grandel
How did the Phillies do well negotiating with Realmuto? They failed to keep him off the open market and had to outbid everyone else to sign him.
You mean the owner wouldn’t let a lame duck GM sign another huge lengthy contract right before getting fired?
If they were willing to pay JT that kind of money what does it matter who the GM is when they pay him?
the guy wanted to test the open market. that was pretty obvious. they brought him back and didnt overpay relative to projections. what more matters in the end?
The projections were wrong. They weren’t able to sign him without outbidding everyone else. If they “did well negotiating with him” he would have left $ on the table to stay in Philly.
That’s not how negotiations work
I didn’t know the facts..you must have been in all the other teams negotiating…Inside info? Who’s your source?
Actually if they had signed him before COVID they would have probably paid him more.
Bro Pérez isn’t a good player. Royals were to loyal imo.
You aren’t declaring the Mets to be the 2nd best team in the NL yet?
I actually agree with metsfan22 here. Perez is a top 10 catcher, but he’s 30 and won’t get any better. Paying him like he’s a top three catcher will backfire. IMO he should’ve gotten a little more than what McCann got paid, something like 4 years at $50 million.
Plus Perez will take up a larger percentage of KC’s payroll than Realmuto will of Philly’s. Doesn’t make sense for a small market club to give $20MM+ for 4 years to an over 30 catcher.
LMAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOO
Seems an odd signing for a rebuilding team playing in a smaller market. A savvy GM could duplicate Perez’s stats for a lot less cheese with a couple of decent backups operating in a platoon. But, hey, it’s KC’s money, not mine.
Philis saved millions not caving into realmutos pre market demands. I know fans don’t always understand when dealing in millions – it’s nice to save a few when u can. Also, no one wants to play in Phili so when they get someone to sign for a reasonable amount like realmuto – it’s a double win. I thought he was gonna be a yankee.
Y’all are sleeping on Perez. KC for sure over paid and know they did but he’s WAY better than just a top 10 catcher. For sure top 5 and could easily vie for that #1 spot
We’re sleeping on Perez? Do you seriously think he is worth $20 million/year at 30 years old? I would rather have Realmuto, Grandal, Smith, Contreras, Vazquez, d’Arnaud, and maybe McCann and Nola if they can keep up their past two years’ production. That makes Perez a top ten but not top five catcher, and definitely not in contention for the best catcher in baseball.
Remember, he was below-average offensively in 4 of his 5 seasons before 2020. And his 2020 was primarily the result of a .375 BABIP that will surely fall back to his career norm around .280. Plus, KC is a small market team and this $20 million will handcuff their ability to bring in more top players.
so you would pay D’arnaud. 20M+ who is actually older and has played 100 game or over twice in his career and never made an all star game including last year in a shortened season. But not a guy that has been all star and gold glove pretty much every year while playing around 130 games pretty much every year since becoming the full time starter.
Also btw even in the shortened season Perez was 3 times better according to WAR while being around his norms. D’arnaud has a 321 average that he never hit above 270 ever in his career. Something tells me D’arnaud will drop back down to norms over a full season especially at 32.
Players who resign prefer to stay in Philly! Last look JT, DiDi and other free agents signed in Philly. And others would have gladly come there if the money was right. There are other destinations that are avoided but Philly is not one of them. Harper, Wheeler, and Cutch seemed to find their way to Philly too. As to your comment about JT’s ultimate price, the market changes, ebbs and flows and the owner is a big boy. He played his cards shrewdly.
Bot, where is your source of info that no one wants to play in Philly? That regurgitated crappola is getting old..
BTW, it’s Philly not Phili…
it’s time for some of you geniuses to clean up your worn out acts…
Can you imagine going from High School ball to MLB with one of your buddies?
So awesome.
Just that makes me root for Cincinnati. Hope these kids have fantastic careers together because that’s just fun, man.
& – if anything – I am consistently pro-fun.
Delmonico has had one good month and a half in the Major Leagues. He is going to have to hit the cover off the ball to keep a roster spot once Votto comes back
Well, no one said it was going to be easy.
I’d still like to see it.
Votto is back. Nick Steaks, we hardly knew thee
Mike Conley and Greg Oden went to the same high school in indiana. Conley’s dad was coach and everyone thought Conley was riding Odens coattails. Especially when he was drafted ahead of Durant. At the end of day- coaches son had a much better career
I just cannot comprehend how Nicky Delmonico can still convince anyone that he can play at the MLB level. He is a poor hitter with little game power. And the “versatility” that he offers is that he can play multiple positions but none of them well. In fact, he is a terrible defender and would be the worst 1B in the league.
Is this Delmonico Wally Pipp moment?
Votto HOFer ?
I don’t think So
Pretty sure you don’t have a vote for HOF.
Which is rather presumptuous on your part.
Fact is, once the Mets signed McCann, there was not a queue of suitors lined up to sign Realmuto. There were some rumblings out of D.C., but aside from the Nats, I didn’t see any other team interested. Of course, every team would love to have Realmuto, but the dollars required to get him pretty much eliminated most teams. And big buck teams like the Dodgers ad Yankees were already set at catcher.
Anyway, as a Phillies fan I was very happy to see them re-sign Realmuto. Equally pleased they opted to bring back Didi, too. But more impressed with the bullpen signings. That was a black hole for us last year. Dombo and Fuld brought in some quality arms, all of whom with previous MLB success on their resumes.
a note on free agents and why some only have a few suiters.. this is just my opinion..I think there are only so many big market teams willing to spend the kinds of dollars it takes to bring one in..some of the smaller markets have the money, but choose time and again to not spend it..since the market shrinks for a particular player, then the real need plays a role..For instance, Manny Machado visited Philly and was high on their list the same time they signed Bryce Harper.. They had a much bigger need for an outfielder than they did for a 3rd baseman…they were never going to sign both..the reason the Phillies might have gone a wee bit over board on J.T., is because he was a real need…, plus they had traded Sixto and Alfaro for him and business wise and Phan wise, it would have been a disaster to lose him too..
These are just a few of my thoughts on the subject..I hope that make a little sense..