Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said yesterday that the club has put contract extension talks with J.T. Realmuto on hold.
Given that the entire country has, basically, stopped doing, well, everything, this is not a shock.
Realmuto will make $10 million this season after losing his arbitration case. It’s his last year before becoming a free agent, and both he and the Phillies have talked about wanting to hammer out a long-term deal. There’s a story about that in the Philadelphia Inquirer, which says that Realmuto’s representatives are using Joe Mauer’s $23 million-a-year deal as a “baseline” in talks, which isn’t unreasonable.
Realmuto, 29, is considered by most to be the top all-around catcher in the game at the moment. He hit .275/.328/.493 with 25 homers and 83 driven in this past season, winning the Silver Slugger Award and a Gold Glove.
