From the Delaware County Daily Times: https://tinyurl.com/4esw8uz2
PHILADELPHIA — Within two hours of losing out on the Bo Bichette sweepstakes to the NL East rival New York Mets, the Phillies re-signed catcher J.T. Realmuto on Friday.
Realmuto’s deal is for three years, $45 million plus $5 million in incentives.
Realmuto, a team leader who turns 35 in March, has been one of the best catchers in the sport. Outside of the shortened COVID year and a knee surgery in 2024, the durable Realmuto has averaged 135 games behind the plate since he became a starter with the Marlins in 2015.
He arrived in Philadelphia in 2019 and eventually became the right-hand man for current manager Rob Thomson. For $15 million per year, a fair price to pay in this market, it’s odd that negotiations became contentious between the catcher and the organization — which also happened in 2020, when the Phillies were initially hesitant to pay up.
Realmuto has consistently ranked above the 22% league average for throwing out runners trying to steal. In 2019, he gunned down an astounding 47%.
Perhaps most importantly, he has been highly trusted by Philadelphia’s top-tier pitching staff.
Realmuto has started every one of the Phillies’ postseason games from 2022-25, hitting .232 with seven home runs and a .745 OPS. He was 6-for-17 (.353) with a pair of doubles, a triple and a homer in the 2025 National League Division Series.
In the 2022 NLDS, he became the first catcher with a postseason inside-the-park home run.
The Phillies appeared to be the frontrunner to sign Bo Bichette, 27, a versatile infielder who has won two Gold Gloves at shortstop and hit .300 or better four times in his Major League career. But Bichette, the son of former MLB All-Star outfielder Dante Bichette, signed a three-year, $127 million contract with the Mets that notably includes opt-outs after year one and two.
Bo Bichette hit .311 with 18 homers, 94 RBIs, 78 runs, and an OPS of .840 with 94 strikeouts in 139 games with the Toronto Blue Jays last year.
He hit .348 with a homer and six RBIs in November’s riveting World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
As a right-handed contact hitter, Bichette would have been a huge addition to an all-or-nothing Phillies lineup that often either homers or strikes out. He has a close relationship with Don Mattingly, whom the Phillies recently hired as bench coach after he served in the same role in Toronto, but the Phillies’ front office failed to close a deal.
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