The Phillies fell to 8-12 with Saturday night’s 3-1 loss to the Braves, and they had a bit of an injury scare with their starting catcher. J.T. Realmuto left the game during the sixth inning with lower back tightness, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Lochlann March and others. Manager Rob Thomson said that Realmuto originally tweaked his back and left knee during a play at the plate on Friday (link via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com). His knee was fine tonight, but his back issue flared up again. Rafael Marchán eventually pinch-hit for Realmuto in the seventh.
Thomson doesn’t think Realmuto will need to go on the injured list, although he probably won’t play tomorrow. After posting slightly below average offense in 2025, Realmuto’s gotten off to a better start in 2026. Through his first 15 games entering play tonight, he is batting .292/.382/.396 with a 123 wRC+. His power is down slightly, as evidenced by his .104 isolated slugging percentage. Realmuto has compensated by walking at a 9.1% clip, up from 6.4% last year, and cutting his strikeouts from 23.5% to 20.0%. His .361 average on balls on in play indicates some good luck, but nonetheless, the club is happy to have bounce-back production from Realmuto so far.
The veteran catcher has a reputation for durability, especially for the modern game. From 2022-25, Realmuto led the league with 491 games started behind the plate. Cal Raleigh was a distant second with 457 games in that span. Since joining the Phillies in February 2019, Realmuto has only been on the IL three times, with one of those being a one-day stint on the COVID IL in 2021. Given his age, production, and the fact that he’s only just started his new three-year, $45MM deal, it’s hardly a surprise that the club will give Realmuto a chance to rest, if only for a day.
If his back remains a lingering problem, the club would turn to Marchán behind the plate. Originally signed out of Venezuela in 2015, Marchán has now spent over a decade in the Phillies’ system. However, despite having over three years of service time, his big-league resume consists of only 261 plate appearances over 88 games. His career line of .228/.290/.376 (83 wRC+) is reasonable for a backup catcher, though his opportunities beyond that have been limited in part due to Realmuto’s presence.
The two are the only catchers on the club’s 40-man roster at the moment. Meanwhile, only two of the club’s top 30 prospects are catchers according to MLB.com, and neither one has reached Triple-A. If a depth option is needed, the club might explore the waiver wire or a minor trade.
Photo courtesy of Kyle Ross, Imagn Images
Straight up not having a good time
Bro seriously…. At least the Flyers won. Cause the Phils aren’t it right now.
It is still early and there is plenty of time for the Phillies to start playing like the Phillies…As a Braves fan I even know it is coming.
Yes the Phillies may look a little banged up and maybe even a little “old” as some people are saying…but at the end of the day they still have a lineup consisting of Turner, Harper, and Schwarber!
The rotation is about to get Wheeler back where him and Sanchez make a really strong 1-2 punch. Painter has been decent so far as well.
I look for the Phillies to turn it around and be the Phillies.
Lucky for the Phillies the division is weak….but they are gonna hover round .500. Im seeing what I expected. Declining performance and serious issues with guys pressing as they realise they aren’t what they were while the home crowd expectations cant be met…and a starting rotation that cant carry the inconsistent offense.
Throw a blanket over the Braves,Mets, Phillies and maybe the Marlins….then watch the survivor exit in the first round in the playoffs…Phillies will be lucky to be that team.
Jonah Heim, J.T.’s heir apparent (if not Marchán) started for Atlanta as their backup catcher in tonight’s win. Married to him at $15M per for three years? Running it back was not a great idea…
The Phillies have 5 catchers on their AAA affiliate. If Realmuto went on the IL with a short term absence, they’d probably just add one those catchers to the 40-man
Two of those are in the IL, but they’d still likely call one of them up in case of a short-term injury to Realmuto
Is it true that Realmuto was behind the wheel of the mystery hummer that crashed into Kevin Nash in wcw around 98?
Quite obviously, the next guy up is clubhouse mascot Garrett Stubbs.
I’d be OK with that because they’d get to cut him again in a week and watch him float back through waivers to AAA. It’s like a ready made option.
They should’ve never brought him back in the first place
I think DD has hit the wall.
I would of cut Bohm an let JT walk. I wouldn’t be so quick to blame trader Dave on JT, owner has long taken care of his guys (Think Nola.) I respect it but sometimes you have to cut bait. I think the Phillies are starting to look old, an DD was right on about Harper. I think he’s still negotiating another contract for himself in various roleplay scenarios likely involving action figures, having said that his money isn’t bad.
They don’t look old. They look defeated. There is no swagger. There is no fire. I know it’s only April but they need to get a little more chippy on the field.
JT is hardly worth fretting about yet. These days I cry myself to sleep thinking about all the dead money being paid out to Castellanos and Walker. Bohm is really scuffling, especially given his family stuff but the numbers were still good enough for his pay grade to sit on him if they couldn’t do Bichette or Bregman. In hindsight you are right.
That Walker deal was a real headscratcher, they acted like they were stealing him away from the mets. I hear you on dead money, I would cut Bohm for a lot of reasons but to me the guy always ****s the bed at the worst times. I stand by what I said, also I don’t consider it a coincidence that the Nats won it after Harpers departure.
Should’ve drafted Caden Bodine last year
As the saying goes, you can’t win a pennant in April, but you can lose one. Be grateful you aren’t the Mets, too.