As we head into December, Philadelphia Phillies fans are getting anxious as we all wait for the first move of the offseason. While every expert, pundit, and insider keeps telling us that Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is going to make some significant moves this offseason, it sure sounds like his former team, the Boston Red Sox, is trying to get in the way.
Dombrowski and the Phillies want to bring back their big free agents, namely designated hitter Kyle Schwarber and catcher J.T. Realmuto. It's no secret. Everyone knows.
While those two players are the Phillies' top priority, the Red Sox are also reportedly after the same players. We already know that they are interested in signing Schwarber. Boston is enamored with Schwarber from his short time there in 2021 and is likely to jump in if the Phillies don't get something done quickly, as Mass Live's Chris Cotillo reported a month ago.
Red Sox now interested in Phillies free agent J.T. Realmuto as well as Kyle Schwarber
But that's not all. As if Phillies fans need even more anxiety, now the Red Sox are rumored to be interested in Realmuto (subscription required). At least that's what sources have told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Jen McCaffrey.
The Phillies fan base seems to be somewhat torn on whether re-signing Realmuto is a good idea. There's an argument against the move due to his age. The veteran backstop will be 35 before Opening Day. There's also an argument that his presence behind the plate and handling the pitching staff are irreplaceable at this time.
Coming off a disappointing year at the plate, Realmuto hit .257 with a .700 OPS, 12 home runs, 52 RBIs, and a 94 wRC+. It was his first season as a below-average offensive player for the Phillies. He was still among the best at controlling the running game, however, with a 99th percentile 1.86-second pop time and a 95th percentile +6 caught stealing above average.
The good news for the "re-sign Realmuto" camp is that all signs point toward that happening. But that doesn't mean that he won't be tempted by other suitors, including the Red Sox. It's a funny thing how Boston keeps popping up, mentioned in the pursuits of similar players as the Phillies.
Not that there's anything sinister about it. It's not like Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is purposefully going out of his way to haunt Dombrowski's offseason steps. It's just a coincidence that Dombrowski used to be Boston's president of baseball operations, a position he held for four years, from 2015 until 2019.
And that's not even considering the Alex Bregman of it all. After electing free agency, the third baseman has continued to be linked back to the Red Sox. The Phillies are also possibly looking to shake up the hot corner, with many feeling that signing the three-time All-Star is the type of big move that Dombrowski needs to make.
How all of this early-offseason posturing will actually turn out is anyone's guess. But you can bet that Dombrowski isn't going to let the Red Sox, or anyone else for that matter, steal Schwarber and Realmuto without a fight.