The Philadelphia Phillies will continue to be led by a veteran core of players this season. The core hopes to prove the skeptics wrong and that the team made the right choice to keep the group together after re-signing both Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto to multi-year deals in the offseason. Realmuto recently spoke about his performance the last two seasons, with comments that will catch the attention of Phillies fans, who hope he can improve as a hitter.
Realmuto will turn 35 on March 18, eight days before Philadelphia's first game of the regular season against the Texas Rangers. He is happy to be back with the Phillies, as there was a time in the offseason when he wasn't sure he'd be back (subscription required).
The veteran catcher is also well aware that he has fallen short of his expectations as a hitter the last two years. He's aiming to get back into the good graces of the fan base by having a much better season in 2026.
J.T. Realmuto eager to prove he still has good baseball left for Phillies in 2026
Realmuto reflected on his performance from the last two seasons and his hope to improve this year with NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark.
"I'm pretty realistic with myself," Realmuto told Clark. "My last two years, I really haven't been happy with. I don't think I played to my ability. But my body feels great, I feel good. I still feel I have a lot of good baseball left in me. I want to go out, have a good year, be healthy, and prove that there's still a lot of baseball left [in me] just because you're a 35-year-old catcher doesn't mean you're done. So, I do take pride in that, and I want to go out and have a good year for that."
“I’m pretty realistic with myself. My last 2 years, I really haven’t been happy with. I don’t think I played to my ability. But my body feels great. I still feel I have a lot of good baseball left in me. I want to prove there’s still a lot of good baseball left. Just because you… pic.twitter.com/qRJ2HFrmsq
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) February 20, 2026
Back in 2024, the veteran dealt with a right knee injury that needed surgery, which led him to miss over a month. The catcher totaled 14 home runs, 47 RBIs, and slashed .266/.322/.429 with a .751 OPS in 99 games. Aside from the shortened 2020 season, that was the fewest number of games he had played since 2014 when he debuted with the Miami Marlins, playing 11 games.
Last year, Realmuto managed a healthier season, playing over 130 games for the fourth time in the last five years. However, his offense continued to show signs of regression. He compiled 12 home runs and 52 RBIs while slashing .257/.315/.384 with a .699 OPS in 134 contests. His OPS was his lowest since 2015.
Realmuto remains one of the better defensive catchers at controlling the running game in MLB. According to Baseball Savant's Statcast leaderboard, he finished tied for fourth with +6 caught stealing above average in 2025. The native of Del City, Oklahoma, who had the fastest pop time (1.86 seconds) finished second in the majors with 20 caught stealing last season.
He also had a .995 fielding percentage, tied for fourth among catchers, and led all catchers with 1,151 1/3 innings behind the plate. If he remains healthy, he should continue to defy the skeptics by remaining dominant defensively in 2026.
Phillies fans are hoping Realmuto is one of the players who has a bounce-back season offensively in 2026. The veteran is happy to be back with the team he spent the previous seven years with. He wants to show the franchise they made the right decision to re-sign him this winter.