The Philadelphia Phillies have a “big three” of sorts waiting to either re-sign or walk away in free agency.
Between catcher J.T. Realmuto, designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, and left-handed pitcher Ranger Suárez, the Phillies are down a combined seven All-Star appearances and 11.9 wins above replacement from this past season. It seems unrealistic to think they could bring back all three, but perhaps two would be satisfactory.
Though Realmuto was the least valuable of the three in terms of WAR this past season, the Phillies’ catching depth chart is so devoid of options that he might be the most important name to bring back, even as he enters his age-35 season with declining offensive numbers in each of the past three seasons.
With the winter meetings kicking off in Orlando on Sunday, perhaps there’s no time like the present for the Phillies to take care of business.
On Friday, insider Robert Murray of FanSided made a series of winter meetings predictions, and one was that the Phillies would get a new deal done with Realmuto between Sunday and the conclusion of the meetings on Wednesday.
“There’s a lot of interest in free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto,” Murray wrote. “Teams love his leadership and what he provides on the field, both at the plate and behind the plate. It’s why the Phillies love him, and I have a very difficult time seeing him leave Philadelphia. It won’t be a long-term contract, but a reunion keeping the two sides together makes all the sense.”
Here’s an educated guess on Realmuto’s sweepstakes: If the Phillies are willing to give him three years, they’ll get him back. If they’re not, and another team does give him that three-year deal, even if the average annual value is a bit lower than a two-year offer he gets from Philadelphia, he’ll walk.
Could that interest from other teams in Realmuto drive up the price tag enough to limit Philadelphia’s ability to bring back Schwarber? That will be another subplot to track if the three-time All-Star backstop re-signs relatively soon.
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