Phillies Evaluating Catching Trade Market With Realmuto Still Unsigned

The Phillies have prioritized reunions with Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto. They succeeded in bringing back the MVP runner-up on a five-year deal at the Winter Meetings. Realmuto’s free agency has been more extended, leaving the Phils in a holding pattern behind the plate.

While a reunion with their longtime catcher remains the priority, Matt Gelb of The Athletic writes that it’s not a lock to come to fruition. The sides obviously have yet to align on contract terms despite Philadelphia’s willingness to offer multiple years. Gelb writes that the Phillies have been involved in trade conversations about potential alternatives. Although there’s no indication anything is close on that front, that highlights the biggest question for the front office.

Aside from Realmuto, the free agent catching market is bleak. Danny Jansen is off the board on a two-year deal with Texas. Victor Caratini is the only other potential starting option, and he has been more of a high-end #2 catcher over the course of his career. Everyone else is a backup or organizational depth type.

That’s also true of the two catchers currently on Philly’s roster, Rafael Marchán and Garrett Stubbs. Marchán was a promising enough prospect that it isn’t out of the question that he could be a solid glove-first starter if given the opportunity. That’d be a gamble for a win-now team, though, and clubs are sometimes reluctant to upgrade the position at the trade deadline because of the adjustment of learning a pitching staff in the middle of a pennant race. The worst case scenario for the Phils is that they wait out Realmuto’s market but get outbid after Caratini has already signed elsewhere. That’d leave them with little choice but to turn to the trade market.

At the same time, they’re probably reluctant to make a trade while Realmuto is still a free agent. Marchán and Stubbs are both out of minor league options. They’re already likely to expose one of them to waivers before Opening Day. Trading for a catcher and re-signing Realmuto could mean losing both of them, as there’s a good chance another team would claim Marchán. Realmuto’s heavy workloads don’t leave much playing time for his backup, so that’s not an ideal use of resources.

The Phils’ trade conversations may be due diligence for now. They still seem likelier than not to figure something out with Realmuto. If that doesn’t come together, speculative trade options include Pedro Pagés, J.C. Escarra, Connor Wong and Jose Trevino.