J.T.

Realmuto

Realmuto is guaranteed $15 million per season under the terms of his three-year deal with the Phillies, so he’ll be fine. However, the bonuses that would get him to a maximum of $20 million per season will be tough to reach. He’d earn $2 million each for finishing in the top 10 of MVP balloting or being voted to start the All-Star Game. He’d make $1 million each for an All-Star selection, a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger, up to a maximum of $5 million in total. None of Realmuto’s last three seasons would have qualified him for any of these bonuses. He was last an All-Star in 2021, though he would have collected $4 million in 2022 for finishing seventh in the NL MVP balloting and winning both a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger. That was his lone top-10 MVP finish to date.

The deal was announced over the weekend and is now official. The veteran will be 35 next year and is coming off a season in which he hit .257/.315/.384 with 12 home runs and 8 steals. He remains an elite defensive catcher and a rock-solid presence in the Phillies’ lineup. He has experienced a minor regression offensively and no longer seems likely to push for 15+ steals in a season, which makes him more of a fringe top 10 catcher for fantasy leagues.

Robert Murray of Fansided adds that it’ll be a three-year, $45 million deal with incentives that could run the total as high as $60 million. It always felt like a reunion with the Phillies made the most sense for the 34-year-old backstop, and now it looks like they’re close to pushing that deal across the finish line. Realmuto hit .257/.315/.384 with 12 homers, 52 RBI and eight stolen bases across 550 plate appearances in 2025 — his seventh season with the Phillies.

Gelb asserts that “The club’s interest in Bichette is legitimate,” and there are some who think the hiring of Don Mattingly, Bichette’s bench coach in Toronto, makes Philadelphia the favorite. As Gelb writes, “if [the meeting] results in a deal, it would likely require the team to move on from roster mainstays J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm.” That would assume that Bichette slots in at third base with Bryson Stott remaining at second base. The need to move on from Realmuto would simply be a financial one. As Gelb notes, “the combination of money allocated for Realmuto being unspent and Bichette’s willingness to move off shortstop has opened the door” for the Phillies to approach Bichette with serious interest. This situation could escalate in the next few days.

The Rangers could instead try for Victor Caratini or Danny Jansen to share time with Kyle Higashioka, who was signed to a two-year, $13.5 million deal last winter. Higashioka hit .241/.291/.403 while starting 68 games behind the plate and 16 at DH last season.

Catcher is not high on the top of the Red Sox’s priority list, but they do want another solid right-handed bat in the lineup, and Realmuto could fit that bill. The veteran will be 35 next year and is coming off a season in which he hit .257/.315/.384 with 12 home runs and 8 steals. He does have a pulled-line-drive approach, which would work well in Fenway Park, and Boston may feel that his veteran presence would be a boon to its young pitching staff. He remains an elite defensive catcher who would give the Red Sox perhaps the best defensive catcher duo in baseball with Carlos Narvaez. It’s a situation to monitor.

Realmuto hit one of two homers off Clayton Kershaw in the eighth inning. The backstop also doubled off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and he’s slashing .385/.385/.923 over the first three games against Los Angeles. He’ll get a chance to improve that mark against the Dodgers on Thursday in Game 4.

Realmuto gave the Phillies an early 2-0 advantage as he roped a two-run triple off of Shohei Ohtani in the second inning and then scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Harrison Bader. That would wind up being his only hit in the night — and the only scoring that the Phillies would ultimately do. They’ll now need to get up off the floor and put up a fight in Game 2 on Monday night or risk heading back to Los Angeles facing a 2-0 deficit.

Turner returns as Philadelphia’s top-of-the-order table-setter to kick off the postseason after missing a significant portion of September recovering from a hamstring strain. The 32-year-old power/speed combo fantasy star played five innings during last Sunday’s regular-season finale. Here’s the full lineup that will square off against Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani in his first career postseason start at Citizens Bank Park: Turner (SS), Kyle Schwarber (DH), Bryce Harper (1B), Alec Bohm (3B), Brandon Marsh (LF), J.T. Realmuto (C), Max Kepler (RF), Harrison Bader (CF) and Bryson Stott (2B).

Realmuto left Tuesday’s game and didn’t play Wednesday due to a finger contusion.