PHILADELPHIA — The months-long saga of J.T. Realmuto’s free agency came to a close on Tuesday with baseball’s best catcher deciding to stay in Philadelphia.
Realmuto, a source confirmed, agreed to a five-year contract with the Phillies worth $115.5 million. The deal, which was first reported by Miami broadcaster Craig Mish, is pending a physical. Realmuto’s contract gives him the highest average annual value ($23.1 million per season) for a catcher in baseball history. It was his goal this winter to land a deal that raised the market for future catchers. He achieved that.
In two seasons with the Phillies, Realmuto has hit 36 homers with a .825 OPS. His 11 homers last season were tied for the most among major league catchers and his RBIs (32) and extra-base hits (17) were tied for second.
There were worries within the fan base this offseason that the Phillies would lose Realmuto after the front office did not ramp up negotiations with him during last season. But those concerns never proved serious as the Phillies always seemed to be the favorites to sign Realmuto.
With Realmuto signed, the Phillies will shift their focus to adding a shortstop and finishing their starting rotation. The team has engaged this month with free-agents Andrelton Simmons and Freddy Galvis and could also bring back Didi Gregorius.
