Could the Philadelphia Phillies swing a trade to replace catcher J.T. Realmuto?
The Philadelphia Phillies could potentially lose long-time catcher J.T. Realmuto to free agency this winter. The Phillies may have interest in retaining him, but the general expectation is that Realmuto will have a robust market.
In the event that Realmuto departs, Philadelphia will definitely have to find an adequate replacement for the 34-year-old, who has made two All-Star appearances since joining the Phillies and owns a .265/.328/.450 slash line in the City of Brotherly Love.
Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter has pitched a trade idea in which Philadelphia would bag a replacement for Realmuto, proposing that the Phillies send pitcher Mavis Graves and third baseman Carson DeMartini — both of whom are minor-league prospects — to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for catcher Ryan Jeffers.
"After their trade deadline fire sale, the Twins have to be viewed as open for business, and while Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton are the trade chips most frequently mentioned in speculative deals, catcher Ryan Jeffers would also be a useful piece for a contender in need of catching help," Reuter wrote.
Jeffers slashed .266/.356/.397 with nine home runs and 47 RBI over 464 plate appearances in 2025. He broke into the big leagues in 2020 and had few rough offensive campaigns to begin his career before breaking out in 2023, when he posted an .858 OPS across 335 trips to the dish. Then, in 2024, Jeffers smashed 21 homers while driving in 64 runs.
The 28-year-old's defense has certainly faded the last couple of years, but so has Realmuto's, who stands to get overpaid by someone this offseason.
Let's be honest: the Phillies need to make some changes.
Philadelphia has been bounced from the NLDS in each of the last two years after winning 95-plus games both times, and it probably needs to get younger.
Things are getting a bit stale for the Phillies, so parting ways with Realmuto and bringing in a younger, fresher Jeffers — who would represent a significant offensive upgrade at this point — could be a good move for the club.
It would hurt to lose Realmuto given that he has been Philadelphia's starting backstop since 2019, but again, changes needed to be made here.