J.T. Realmuto's impressively elite key metric should help Phillies' decision

The veteran backstop remains among the elite catchers in the game.
ByMatt Davis|
Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto is still among the elite in pop time.
Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto is still among the elite in pop time. | Emilee Chinn/GettyImages

The Philadelphia Phillies have quite the catcher in J.T. Realmuto. Touted as one of the best catchers in the game when he debuted in 2014, that feeling still remains the same in 2025. Statcast arrived in 2015 and introduced a whole new way to evaluate catchers, and inevitably proved that Realmuto annually ranks among the best catchers in the game.

Pop Time to second base is the time between a pitch hitting the catchers mitt and the time it takes to travel to the second baseman's glove on an attempted steal. As far as ranking catchers, it's one of the most valuable stats and has Realmuto coming in as the third-best in the sport in 2025. Even as an aging veteran, Realmuto still comes to play and shows the Phillies he's worth another look for a potential contract extension.

Phillies' J.T. Realmuto still ranks among the best in Pop Time despite his age

When it comes to talent, Realmuto has always been a wizard behind the plate, and it has been his calling card as a major league backstop. As a 34-year-old, he's still putting up an average Pop Time of 1.87 seconds, per Statcast. That's the second-fastest time this season. He has also caught the most baserunners stealing since 2019, with 102.

Here are the current Pop Time rankings as of Thursday, May 15:

Player

Pop Time

Age

Endy Rodríguez, PIT

1.86 sec.

25

Patrick Bailey, SFG

1.86 sec.

26

J.T. Realmuto, PHI

1.87 sec.

34

Henry Davis, PIT

1.87 sec.

25

Shea Langeliers, ATH

1.88 sec.

27

Francisco Alvarez, NYM

1.89 sec.

23

The catchers around him are at least eight years younger, with the biggest age gap being 11 years. The position has a history of being a young man's game, but he's demonstrated a stubbornness to go down quietly (subscription required), per Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Realmuto will be looking for a new contract after this season, and this is just another reason to ink a new deal.

Realmuto has made the highlight reel numerous times as a member of the Phillies in his six-plus seasons, and it looks like his age isn't slowing him down just yet. Realmuto is in his contract year, so perhaps the added motivation will show that he has more baseball to play (subscription required) before he hangs it up for good, per Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

His offense may not be at the same level it once was, but the metrics don't lie and prove that Realmuto is continuing to push any limits he can find. The Phillies will have a decision to make at the catcher position this winter if they don't re-sign Realmuto.

They haven't been able to develop another serviceable player, and it would be improbable to find an immediate replacement as durable and consistent as the one currently sitting behind home plate. If he can still do it, maybe keeping Realmuto is the best idea until he shows you can't do it anymore.

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