Re-signing J.T. Realmuto was a priority for the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason. At least that's what we had been told ever since the NL East champions were eliminated early from the postseason. The team has finally made good on that, signing the veteran catcher on Friday, less than two hours after they found out that they had lost Bo Bichette to the New York Mets.
They offered him a contract during the Winter Meetings but the two sides had been locked into a stalemate since. As first reported by FanSided's Robert Murray, the Phillies and Realmuto have now finally agreed to a 3-year, $45 million deal, just weeks before spring training gets underway. According to Murray, it could reach up to $60 million, with escalators and bonuses, we assume.
Free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto and the Philadelphia Phillies are in agreement on a three-year, $45 million contract with a chance to get to $60 million, according to sources familiar with the deal.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) January 16, 2026
Recently it had come to light that Realmuto didn't have much of a free agent market, after reportedly having plenty of interest earlier in the offseason. We know that he received interest from the Boston Red Sox, the Texas Rangers, and even the surprising Pittsburgh Pirates at one point.
Phillies keep the band together by re-signing veteran J.T. Realmuto
The contract will see the soon-to-be 35-year-old remain with the Phillies through the 2028 season, for better or for worse. To many fans, this will still feel like a letdown after being so close to adding a difference-maker in Bichette. Now, we have to accept the reality that the Phillies are essentially "running it back."
Despite his offensive struggles last season, the Phillies were willing to pay Realmuto through his age-37 season because he has been intrinsic to the pitching staff's success. Even if Realmuto's bat continues to decline, his value behind the plate with the pitching staff will make the deal well worth it.
The Phillies will be hoping that Realmuto can rebound at the plate in 2026. He hit .257 with a .700 OPS in 2025, his lowest OPS since his age-24 season in 2015 with the Miami Marlins. He hit just 12 home runs with 52 RBIs with 94 wRC+ in 134 games this year. However, he still boasted the fastest pop time (1.86 seconds) and +6 caught stealing above average (95th percentile).
After the Phillies acquired Realmuto from the Miami Marlins in 2019, they re-signed him to an at-the-time record-setting five-year, $115.5 million contract in January 2021.
In his seven seasons in red pinstripes, Realmuto has a .265 batting average and a .778 OPS, with 121 home runs, 434 RBIs and 73 stolen bases. He leads all catchers with 833 games and 25.1 fWAR over that time. While in Philadelphia, he has been named to two All-Star teams while winning a pair of Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers. He finished seventh in NL MVP voting in 2022.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski knows his team has a finite window with aging stars Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Zack Wheeler all close to or in their mid-30s. Now Dombrowski just has to hope that bringing back Realmuto, as well as Schwarber, pays off with another run to, and this time a victory in, the World Series.