The Philadelphia Phillies have made a critical offseason move.
After watching Bo Bichette join the New York Mets, the Philadelphia Phillies have made a move, re-signing catcher J.T. Realmuto on a three-year, $45 million contract.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported the news.
The general expectation was that Realmuto would sign back with the Phillies all along, but there was some slight trepidation that he could land elsewhere.
Realmuto will earn $15 million annually on this deal, which is what most projected the three-time All-Star to land.
The 34-year-old initially joined Philadelphia back in February 2019, coming over in a trade with the Miami Marlins.
Since then, Realmuto has slashed .265/.328/.450 while playing tremendous defense behind the plate. Two of his three All-Star appearances have come in a Phillies uniform, with his most recent trip to the midsummer classic being in 2021.
However, while Realmuto has been a terrific player in Philly for the vast majority of his seven-year tenure, there is no doubt that he has shown some decline over the last couple of seasons.
The veteran slashed just .257/.315/.384 with 12 home runs and 52 RBI over 550 plate appearances in 2025, marking his lowest OPS since his first full campaign in the big leagues back in 2015.
Realmuto's OPS has also dipped each year over the last three seasons, and his defense has declined, as well.
Regardless, there weren't any immediately better options for Philadelphia on the open market, nor was there anyone particularly interesting available via trade.
There had been speculation that the Phillies could try and swing a deal to acquire Ryan Jeffers from the Minnesota Twins, but nothing materialized on that end.
Philadelphia has now re-signed two of its core pieces this winter, first re-upping with Kyle Schwarber on a five-year, $150 million contract and then retaining Realmuto.
The Phillies also signed outfielder Adolis Garcia and relief pitcher Brad Keller, but that has been the extent of their significant offseason moves.
Philadelphia was slapped with a $56 million luxury tax bill after last season, so it seems pretty evident that ownership is carefully monitoring payroll.
We'll see if the Phillies can finally get over the hump in 2026 after being bounced from the NLDS each of the last two years.