3 external options for the Phillies to replace J.T. Realmuto
With the star catcher going under the knife for knee surgery, here are some options the Phillies could explore if they decide to bring in outside help.
The news on Tuesday was devastating for the Philadelphia Phillies and their fans.
Star catcher J.T Realmuto was placed on the 10-day injured list to undergo surgery on his right knee. The knee meniscectomy, scheduled for Wednesday in Philadelphia, will remove the torn meniscus from his knee and put him on the shelf for at least four weeks, maybe longer.
It's something the backstop had been dealing with and tolerating since he missed three games in May with knee soreness. It was only a matter of time, it seemed, until we ended up here. Now the Phillies are without arguably the most important piece of the puzzle.
The No. 1 catcher has been remarkably healthy while in Philadelphia, although he did have surgery on the same knee at the end of the 2019 season. Backup Garrett Stubbs has played minimally since joining the team in 2022. He played 50 games that season, 41 last year, and has appeared in 19 this season.
3 external options for the Phillies to replace J.T. Realmuto
The Phillies will lean on Stubbs and Rafael Marchán, at least for now. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said they expect the top catcher to be out a month, but what if it takes longer and Dombrowski and general manager Sam Fuld decide they want to venture out and find a better replacement?
Here are three external options the Phillies could consider to replace Realmuto while he's out of the lineup.
Tomás Nido, New York Mets
The division rival New York Mets just designated Tomás Nido for assignment after activating Francisco Alvarez from the 10-day IL. The 30-year-old has been playing sporadically in the big leagues since debuting in 2017.
There's no way he would ever replace Realmuto, but Nido was slashing .229/.261/.361 in 90 plate appearances this season. He has three home runs and eight RBI in his limited time and would be an upgrade at the plate over Stubbs who's hitting .179 with a .466 OPS this year.
Defensively, the veteran backstop ranks 12th among qualified catchers with three blocks above average. For comparison, Realmuto ranks 64th (out of 66 catchers) and Stubbs ranks 53rd. He has also been slightly better at framing pitches than both Phillies catchers.
Nido would be a cheap, temporary option to play alongside Stubbs until Realmuto returns if the Phillies wanted a veteran upgrade over Marchán.
Elias Díaz, Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies have a catcher they might be willing to part with, seeing as how they're going nowhere fast in the NL West. Elias Díaz, the 2023 All-Star, is in the final year of a three-year, $14.5 million contract and is earning $6 million this season.
Like Realmuto, the Rockies backstop is 33 years old. He's in his fifth season in Colorado and is putting up an impressive .303/.352/.439 slash line through 55 games. He has five home runs and 28 RBI with just a 17.6 percent strikeout rate.
Díaz is ranked No. 29 on Bleacher Report's 2024 trade deadline board, and, as noted by Kerry Miller, has fairly even home and road splits, so it's not just the thin air at Coors Field that's leading to his success at the plate. At home, the right-handed hitting Díaz is hitting .311 with an .820 OPS. On the road, he has a .293 average and a .759 OPS.
Adding Díaz to the lineup would more than make up for Realmuto's lost offensive production. The only caveat is that he's listed as day-to-day with a strained left calf, so the Phillies would need to take a wait-and-see approach if they wanted to work out a trade for the Colorado catcher.
Danny Jansen, Toronto Blue Jays
As the top catcher on Bleacher Report's 2024 trade deadline board, at No. 25, Danny Jansen would be a great get for the Phillies while Realmuto is on the shelf. He'd also be a huge upgrade as a second-string backstop when he returns — especially if the team wants to manage Realmuto's playing time.
Jansen, 29, is a free agent after the season, currently playing on a one-year, $5.2 million deal. He has been with Toronto his entire career and is now in his seventh MLB season. While he has had a hard time staying healthy, with freak injury after freak injury, when he's in the lineup, he produces. He's slashing .264/.345/.473 with five home runs and 16 RBI in 38 games this season.
He has dropped his strikeout rate this season down to a stingy career-best 13.3 percent, with an 11.2 percent walk rate.
He'd fit right in on the Phillies lineup. As Miller notes, "Among the 56 catchers with at least 500 plate appearances since the beginning of 2021, Jansen has the highest slugging percentage at .493."
With Jansen behind the plate, the Phillies would get an elite blocking catcher, as he ranks second in the majors in blocks above average with eight. While they'd be giving away something with his pop time, he equals Realmuto in his preparation and handling of a pitching staff.
manual