The Philadelphia Phillies just locked up All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto to a five-year, $115.5 million contract. The two-time All-Star will be returning to the city of brotherly love.
Realmuto’s average salary on this new deal is $23.1 million per year, which is the highest ever for a catcher in Major League Baseball history. He is the first catcher to sign a contract worth over $100 million in free agency.
There have been catchers that have signed larger extensions, like Joe Mauer and his eight-year, $184 million extension with the Minnesota Twins in 2010, and Buster Posey nine-year, $167 million extension with the San Francisco Giants in 2013. Realmuto’s new deal surpassed Mauer’s previous record for highest average annual value at $23 million.
Realmuto, 29, has earned this deal. He patiently waited and he was paid handsomely, after declining the Phillies’ one-year qualifying offer. He is a two-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, and won a Gold Glove. He is one of the best all-around catchers in the majors.
2018 is when things changed for Realmuto. He had a monster season for the Marlins and then generated a ton of trade interest, which ended up with him being sent to Philadelphia. This was the year of his first All-Star game.
Since 2018, Realmuto leads all MLB catchers in WAR (10.1), RBIs (189) and stolen bases (16) and is second best in slugging percentage and OPS. He has hit 57 home runs during that span, which ranks third among MLB catchers during that span. All stats are from baseballreference.com.
On the defensive side of the ball, he has 11 runs saved since the start of the 2019 season. This ranks fourth among catchers who have played more than 1,000 innings during that span.
In 2019, Realmuto batted .275 with 25 homers and 83 RBIs while earning his second consecutive All-Star selection in 2019, when he led the National League catching 43 runners stealing.
Realmuto is passionate about the Phillies’ organization. “I love this organization,” he said. “They’ve been great to me and my family since I showed up. From top to bottom, they’re good people and they care about baseball. That’s important to me.”
Now that the Phillies have Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, and JT Realmuto signed for the next four seasons. A new winning culture is trying to be built in Philadelphia, slowly, but surely.
Realmuto is a career .278 hitter has had an OPS. of .825 since 2018. Realmuto is the best catcher is the majors and is now one of the richest catchers in the league. This was a huge move for the Phillies, and this keeps them competitive in the race for the NL East.
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