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.
The Braves were in on him until the end though guys!!!
Didn’t matter
AA would have choked to death just uttering the terms. Was never gonna happen in ATL for 5/$115
Yes , Atlanta was in for a 3 month guarantee and then month to month after that. What a JOKE
@Yep lol, 3 month guarantee
That’s the White Sox
Used to be. See what happens when the games are played. Heads and shoulders above most teams. Young players bought out of arb and a few free agent years.
White Sox logic: $250m > $300m
I guess people on this board aren’t aware or just ignoring the fact that JT took a loss when you consider the extension he turned down in Miami when he asked to be traded. That was about the same AAV (a little higher), but bought out his final two arbitration years and added another 6 years. I think the last rumored discussion before the trade was 8 years for about $190m a couple of years ago. Marlins new ownership wanted to rebuild around JT, Yelich and Ozuna. Unfortunately, two declined extension offers (Ozuna and JT). JT and Yelich asked to be traded.
With arbitration the last two years and the missing 6th year, JT loss some $$$ here. He better get rewarded with some on-the-field success out of the Phillies because I’m sure the money stings and the fact that the Marlins made it to the playoffs before JT did.
Also means the Marlins dodged a bullet with JT declining the 8/$190m. He takes it and they don’t have Sixto and are paying JT more than they would have had to.
@Jimthegoat
So true. From my view, while I understand why JT made the decision, it looks good for us. It’s gotta sting him though…now in the wallet and so far having to watch the Marlins make the playoffs while his team didn’t (even though a shortened season).
Imagine how the marlins would be if they kept everyone with the young pitching they have now
I’m sure he’s not losing sleep over it. They made the playoffs in a year when 16 teams were let in.
Yes, 16 teams made it, but JT’s wasn’t one of them.
I am sure he isn’t losing sleep that the Marlins barely made the playoffs in an odd 60 game season.
The Braves were in until the price tag exceeded 3 years and 20m AAV
Finally, welcome back to the Phillies organization. This is a great day for the Phillies by bringing back JT. Thank you Dave Dombrowski for making this deal possible.
I dont know if I would give DD much credit on this. The market had dried up pretty quick for carchers. Most teams opted for cheaper options. If JT’s knees can stay healthy and he can play and produce for 3/4’s of this contract from behind the plate, Philly wins on this signing. If JT starts to fall apart like many catchers do, this contract could become an albatross.
DD makes first big move. Needs more pitchers because Alvarado and Bradley aint holding it down
What a surprise that the only team bidding signed him.
Lol true. I thought my Nats at beginning could of signed him. Phillies 4th place in my eyes
Remember when the Orioles outbid themselves for Chris Davis?
I’ve heard rumors that Angelos was a bit impaired, and that Boras went directly to him. That doesn’t seem sporting, but that happens sometimes with a family-owned business.
Agree. Not going anywhere even with JT, Harper. I’d rather spend the 45+ million on building a winner. Yanks ended up trading Tanaka money for two starters. Jury out on that deal.
Bradley is better than anyone the Phils had in the bp last year.
Thanks, Dark Cloud.
I’ve been a DD supporter but I thought after the latest overpays in Boston he would have reverted back to waiting it out. Where really was the market outside of Philly?
That just leaves clever Trevor from the top 5. Your move crazy boy. Ahahahaha!
This and harpers deal will be interesting watch age by the ends of them both. Not hating, just stating.
Overpay is right … this contract will not look good in a year or two … paying a 30 year old catcher 23M per year until age 35 while he appears to be in a decline (look at his avg over the last several years) is not good business.
In a year or two he will be 31 or 32 years old.
As a Giants fan, I’ve witnessed it first hand. Hopefully JTR can keep up his defensive value so he remains a viable starter.
Yes but for every Posey you have guys like Yadi Molina, who to me is a better comp. Posey had an incredible prime. However he also struck me as someone who is kind of fragile and a bit soft.
Who uses average anymore? Slugging-up. OPS-up. WAR-up 18-19. Defense-consistent GG caliber. Anyone who has watched him play knows he is a star. If average is all you have to go on it is a pretty weak argument.
Every thing statman just said can be thrown out the window the second he decided to use average to determine he was declining when every single other stat is showing improvement. I am not saying average is useless, but this is the exact example people talk about how bad it is as a metric of success.
A lot of good catchers were productive into their mid/late 30’s. I’m not buying the whole, because he’s a catcher it was a bad deal, sentiment.
Especially given he was a late transition to catcher which means his knees have less wear and tear. The DH in the NL will also help. Even if he is only catching 80 games a year in 5 years. That is good value.
Ahh yes, the good old “my anecdotal evidence trumps age-related statistical facts” argument!
Considered the best catcher in baseball by many.They’re topping the highest salary for a catcher by 100k.And they’re signing him for his age 30 to 34 seasons,not going into the late 30 seasons.Its an overpay in the same way Zach Wheeler was last year,and so far that deal has been good for Philly.
Dombrowski was brought in for *1* reason.. Attempt at all costs to get a WS win and this is step 1. That bull line fed after the season was just that, bringing in Dombrowski was a clear sign that Philly is going for that WS at all costs, just like his teams have always done. Every prospect is now on the block and can be assured he has an open checkbook to get this roster completed.
johnsiver, the only issue I have with what you wrote, is in reality, the Phillies don’t have much in the system..They have been way past feeble in drafting
Not sure how this is an overpay…best catcher in baseball, dominant on both offense and defense, and there’s no reason he shouldn’t be effective for the entirety of the deal.
Even if there were no other teams that into him, he could have chosen to sit out the season or sign elsewhere on a one year loaded contract, or he even could have told the Phillies he’d only agree to a multi year deal if he had opt outs after each if the first two seasons.
I’m always baffled how many fans would rather the owner keeps pocketing the money instead of paying it to the players. Good for JTR.
Would love to know what the second best offer was.
Yes great idea. Sit out a year and be a free agent a year older and lose 20 million.
He wouldn’t do better next offseason. He’s a known quantity. Next offseason he’d be a known quantity who’s a year older. And that’s assuming he doesn’t get injured or have a down year.
wrong!
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.
@13Morgs13 Despite some awful moves, I’m happy with the FO for putting an exciting product on the field. I’m not happy in their inability to draft and develop talent.
Give them credit for what? Offering more money than any other team would to a catcher on the wrong side of 30 and a position that doesn’t age well? Look at list of recent World Series teams (winners and losers) Most do not have elite catching, better off using those resources for pitching. You know, the position that actually makes a difference in the playoffs. The Phillies have had Realmuto for several years and haven’t done squat, I predict same mediocrity for next 5 years!!
Nola Wheeler Howard is more compelling than 20 teams moving forward when accounting age/arc…..
I think it’s fun to think about they had sixto Sanchez and he coulda been there and they have that 100 million to sign someone else, and you have sixto in your rotation. Perhaps they don’t ever sign wheeler then as well and there’s a lot more financial flexibility and you have some pitching youth locked up.
@Moonlight Grahamcracker The Phillies had some solid starting pitching last year. Their bullpen was awful, and they’ve made some small moves to address that. They still have a ways to go, but it’s not like they’re ignoring the problem. Realmuto is key to the lineup, defense, and rotation. Without him, the Phillies weren’t going anywhere. I’m not saying they’re close to the Braves or Mets, but this move shows they’re still trying to win.
Solid starting pitching, not elite by any means. I just think it’s fools gold signing. It’s splashy and excites fans, but doesn’t really improve the team all that much. They could obtain same results with a catcher making $5 million and use extra money on bullpen help that’s all.
wrong side of 30? He’s 29
Doesn’t improve the team that much? How?
He’s the best in the business. How can that not make your team better?
“They could obtain the same results with a catcher making $5 million”. Do you even watch baseball?
Will turn 30 before opening day.
Still not the “wrong side of 30”
There really isn’t a right side of 30. The fact is he won’t be 29. Nonetheless, a 5-year deal is still appropriate as he will be 34 when the deal is done.
Yes, as others have already pointed out, he’ll be 30 when the season starts turd. Yes he was so great they missed the playoffs with him on the team. I watch plenty of baseball, thank you for asking. And I’m sure I know quite a bit more than you. Look at what the Rays did, spent minimal on catching and won the AL pennant. That’s my point. Look at other recent winner and you’ll see that you don’t need an elite catcher to win. Is he a good player? Well of course he is, now at least. In 1-2 years not so much. He won’t be catching by then and even though his bat is above average for a catcher, it’s below average for a 1B/DH where he will inevitably move to in a few years. My argument is that the Phillies have so many holes, they should have used this money to address those weaknesses that would’ve made them much more competitive than spending that much money on a 30 year old catcher.
cmon now regardless of age he isnt getting any more mileage on his legs by Opening Day.
Moonlight Grahamcracker
Yes he was so great they missed the playoffs with him on the team
=========================================================================
Trout misses the playoffs every year as well. What you said makes no sense and has no relevance.
JT will absolutely, positively still be catching at the end of this contract unless he sustains a major knee injury.
C’mon now you know how to type, why not just do it? You aren’t texting your little butt buddies here.
Aww poor little fella, you thought you actually had a great argument there. Good for you. Too bad it doesn’t make any sense. If you could pass reading comprehension, you could follow that my comment was in response to the previous commenter that he’s such a great player and makes the team better which is why he deserves the high salary. My point was to state that even though he’s great, the team overall is still mediocre without more deserving help they need. Look at the Nationals 2 years ago. We’re they good with Harper? Yes they were. Is Harper a great player? Yes he is. Would Nationals have won the WS if the went all in on Harper and paid him insane amount of money and didn’t use that money on other positions? I seriously doubt it. That’s my point, one person making a whole bunch of money when you have so many holes is not smart. You understand chief?
If anything, you only prove my point even more!! The Angels were hamstrung for years by Pujols terrible contract, and other questionable signings also, so they didn’t have money for any starting or relief pitching. That exactly what the Phillies have done with the Harper and Realmuto deals. Look at what Nationals did after Harper left. Look at what Rays do year after year. What you water heads aren’t understanding isn’t to say Realmuto isn’t a great player, that’s not what myself or most others are saying. It’s just that each team only has a finite number of resources (I.e. cash), so when they spend it all on a catcher, who although he’s good he doesn’t move the needle all that much in wins and losses. That money would be better off spent elsewhere to make them more competitive. I bet you thought the Nationals were “stupid” to not re-sign Harper, right? Someone of your intellectual level could never understand that there can sometimes be addition by subtraction. I appreciate you helping my argument though @joebrady, I knew there was a little brain cell in there somewhere!!!
I’m happy you have big tough guy keyboard fingers to call me a “turd” on a baseball rumor site. Good for you. Pretty classless. Grow up.
And I’m also happy that you seem so confident in your crystal ball that JT “won’t be catching” in 1-2 years. And who’s to say they won’t be competitive?
You’re correct in the fact they do have holes. But why not fill one of the holes with the best at the position and fill out the rest via smaller signings and potential trades? Would make some sense, no?
You seem pretty triggered when people make counter arguments to yours by using petty name calling and childish insults. Might want to go talk to someone
Andy, you know how things are…if he isn’t your player, then just tear him down..just ignore these people
@andymeyer, I called you a turd because that’s what’s between your ears, ice down your hurt feelings little fella. Yes I’m confident based on 50 years of age-related statistics that tell me that catchers do not get better in their 30s. Yes good job, fill catcher spot with big $$ and make smaller $$ signings for pitching. Let me know how that works out. I’m not triggered, I find it hilarious when toolbars like yourself attack others for having informed opinions. I’m simply defending myself, although I should know reasoning does little for the likes of you.
Moonlight Grahamcracker
The Angels were hamstrung for years by Pujols terrible contract, I appreciate you helping my argument though @joebrady, I knew there was a little brain cell in there somewhere!!!
=====================================================
Thank you, but we need to part here. The Pujols signing was always, always an awful contract. You can’t compare it to Realmuto. Using $9M/WAR, there is I’d guess about a 40% chance that JTR will have earned his $115M by the end of year 3. They will regret the last year, but it is really the straight-line accounting of contracts that causes this. If the contract was thought of as a $33-28-23-18-13 contract, then the $/WAR would look more reasonable.
IMO, $115M/5 for JTR is way better than $150M/5 for Springer. I can find CFs, I can’t find catchers. The drop-off from the JTR/Grandal level to the next level, is really steep.
According to FG, over the past three years, the #5 & #6 catchers are Flowers & Alfaro.
That said, I never liked the trade, primarily for this reason. After two seasons, they had to pay market rates, instead of paying Sixto & Alfaro minimum wage.
It’s funny that you think I was “attacking” you, hence why you still feel the need to come on here and hurl your little insults repeatedly. Feel better?
It’s a baseball rumors site. Relax. Get a glass of water. Might do you some good. Enjoy the rest of your evening
The Phillies made smaller signings and trades for guys like Shane Victorino, Jamie Moyer, Jason Werth and Joe Blanton. I seem to recall it working out rather nicely
Yes they added those supporting pieces when they already had a great team. That’s not at all the case here. But thank you again for comparing apples to bowling balls.
@joebrady,
Once again you’re focusing on all of the wrong details here. Never once did I say this contract won’t have surplus value or not. My whole contention is it’s not a great utilization of financial resources. Plain and simple that’s it. All this other subterfuge by Phillies commenters attacking people who dare to question the signing is getting away from the original argument that paying big money to aging catchers is historically not a great move. Are there some catchers in the history of baseball who have played decent in there mid to upper 30s? Yes of course, out of the thousands of players in that scenario you will of course have some outliers. And who knows, maybe Realmuto is one of those rare exceptions and if he is then good for him, he beat the odds. My statement was that it’s just not a good idea, percentage wise to make that bet. That money they gave Realmuto has a better chance of paying of if used in a different capacity. If you don’t agree then fine, that’s your right. I guess we shall see
paying of should be paying off…see what I did there?
Mr. Perfect…we all make mistakes..quit throwing rocks at others
They aren’t great but they are not mediocre as you like to call them
“If you don’t agree, that’s fine. That’s your right”
Are you the same person? You were just hurling insults and sounding like a triggered child. I’m confused. You seemed pretty adamant about Realmuto basically falling off a cliff and that “50 years of baseball data” shows this. Here’s a great article from 2013 that explained some interesting stuff
blogs.fangraphs.com/catcher-aging-is-a-curve-not-a…
Could they have spent the money elsewhere? Sure. But they didn’t. I agree with the signing and you do not. Couldn’t we just agree to disagree without the childish rhetoric?
@dads,Wow you’re a clever one, go back to playing with feces.
@andy, ha you’re the triggered child you started crying when I pushed back on your nonsense. Great use of google there, I have many articles also that prove my point as well. We will see how this works out in a few years, more than likely it will end badly without a WS for the Phillies. And you will still be an idiot.
If you wanted to “push back”, have a civil debate instead of name calling BS. And seeing as you still want to call me an “idiot”, I see being civil or an adult is an issue for you. Good evening
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!
@MetsFan22 This gets the Phils out of the basement, and more importantly shows they’re willing to compete. Unfortunately, so is everyone in the NL East. It’s going to be tough, but the Phillies aren’t as far as some people think. My personal rankings post Realmuto: Braves > Mets > Nats > Phils > Marlins, but all of this can easily change. There isn’t a single pushover in the division, and I’m not even sleeping on the Marlins.
Cover your ears Phils’ fans… Marlins > Phillies… The Marlins’ staff is just so much deeper, but with a few acquisitions that could change.
Marlins rotation is so much deeper? How is that exactly
Who’s the ace?
Sandy Alcantara, who is essentially Aaron Nola-lite. Then you have their future ace – Sixto Sanchez – he’s great as well. They just have more rotation depth than Philly.
Sandy Alcantara is “Aaron Nola lite”? Ok?
Jury still out on Sixto. It’s funny how people already label him an ace with 39 major league innings pitched. He’s super talented but let’s not get ahead of ourselves!
Trevor Rogers, Pablo Lopez and Elieser Hernandez? I’ll take Nola, Wheeler and Eflin any day of the week. Spencer Howard has the makings of a solid starter. Vinny V? Been there, done that. Haha
*Future* ace. He has been one of the best pitching prospects in baseball for years ever since his days… IN PHILLY?!?!!?! But yes, let’s not get ahead of ourselves with the guy that averages 99 mph on his fastball, yes, let’s slow the roll on him.
Their rotation is:
Alcantara
Sixto
Lopez
Hernandez
Rogers
Not only do they have even more depth beyond that, but that 1,2,3 is so diverse it adds to the effectiveness. Look at it: Alcantara is a mid-90’s guy with good command and good breaking stuff, Sixto is a fireballer who can pump his stuff past anybody, and Lopez is a soft-tossing control pitcher like Kyle Hendricks who’s really effective as well. Batters would be so confused trying to face that staff three nights in a row.
I like their staff better, I’m sorry, but they are.
more likely future closer.
@Rangers29 Eflin is so underrated. Phillies are lacking a clear 4 and 5. That’s the problem. But I’d take their 1-3 over the Marlins 1-3.
David Nied just came to mind. His first 35 innings were brilliant too.
Actually, Rogers is going to have to battle to get the 5th spot with several other young arms – among them being Edward Cabrera who can also dial it up.
He’s thrown 39 innings. You know who else were “future aces”? Brian Matusz, Kyle Drabek and Mark Appel. How did they pan out?
Pablo Lopez? Come on man. Comparisons are exactly what they are. Comparisons. Doesn’t always translate. Alcantara “Aaron Nola lite”. Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Nola and Wheeler all day, every day
As a Marlins fan, I don’t mind everyone ignoring us. In fact, I say ignore the Marlins all season, no matter how they are playing. With the exception of the COVID outbreak, I liked the 2020 regular season so much that I wouldn’t mind seeing the same thing of the Marlins winning as they were ignored happen again for how ever many games are played this year. Ignore the Marlins until the last out of the World Series.
Nobody ever talks about how the Phillies were firing on all cylinders leading up to the Marlins series. The Marlins came to town and screwed up their momentum because they couldn’t obey quarentine. The season was never the same after that. So thanks Miami. It’s even worse that they were praised for being irresponsible because they ended up making the playoffs.
I think the Mets are better than the Braves. But I could see why you choose Braves. I’m not going to tell you that you are wrong. I agree with everything you said expect the marlins. I’m sleeping all day on them lol.
Why? They have a lot of young talent, had a really solid rotation that showed a lot of promise in 2020 and five batters who were above average hitters according to OPS+. They also have Corey Dickerson and Starling Marte. The chances they actually win the division are low, but there’s a lot of young talent you can’t ignore.
That’s fair. I probably would start my rankings in the NL East the same way. I think a lot depends on if the Nationals rotation stays healthy and remain productive. Should be a very compelling division.
Is everyone ranking Atlanta 1 assuming they are going to add a middle of the order bat? If they don’t replace ozuna I could make a case for Mets and Nats both being better.
VonPurpleHayes
@MetsFan22 This gets the Phils out of the basement,
=============================================================
The Phillies didn’t finish last. That honor belonged to the Mets.
And the Mets are a lock to compete? Typical, delusional Mets fan.
Um yes they are…
They’re not a lock until they prove it on the field. A lot of teams look good on paper or win the off-season.
How are they not? They have just of a young core as the braves or Marlins maybe not elite but solid contributors with the best rotation in the nl besides Washington(when they are healthy) degrom, stroman, corassco, and add baurer to that? with a pretty deep pen. Upgrades at ss and c offensively and defensively I like their chances
Mutts finish in last, book it and lock it. Garbage roster!
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.