Phillies

Phillies Notebook: Reported Interest in Ketel Marte, Updates on Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto

By Luke Arcaini

Published: Nov 25th, 2025 · 7:26 PM EST

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The MLB offseason is finally starting to pick up with rumors after a quiet start.

Here’s a collection of Phillies-related reports from the past day or two:

Phillies “checked in” on Diamondbacks 2B Ketel Marte

The Phillies checked in on DBacks second baseman Ketel Marte, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network. Arizona is reportedly “actively listening” to offers for the veteran. Marte is 32 and the best second baseman in baseball, coming off a 28-homer, 72-RBI season with an .893 OPS:

"The Diamondbacks are actively listening."@jonmorosi has the latest on Ketel Marte potentially being traded this offseason 👀 pic.twitter.com/hjlD93EdqW

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 25, 2025

Marte has five years, $92M left on his deal and will require a hefty package to acquire. The Phillies have been hesitant to trade the trio of Andrew Painter, Aidan Miller, and Justin Crawford over the last two years, specifically Painter. I’d have to believe this deal would require one of those three. Would the Phillies finally bite to acquire one of the best middle-infielders in the entire sport?

Red Sox “showing interest” in J.T. Realmuto

Realmuto is the best catcher on the free-agent market this offseason. While the Phillies want him back, it won’t be easy. The Boston Red Sox are “showing interest” in Realmuto, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The Red Sox are looking to upgrade their lineup this winter, along with their presence behind the plate. Realmuto would be a good fit next to Carlos Narvaez. Ideally, Realmuto isn’t catching 140 games for you at his age. It seemed like the Phillies wanted to have that same goal going into last season, but it ended up being 134 games for the veteran.

It’s worth noting that both Rosenthal and Jen McCaffrey noted in the article that the “best guess with Realmuto is that he will still re-sign with the Phillies.”

Phillies, Kyle Schwarber expectedly “not close” on a deal

The Phillies and Kyle Schwarber “are not close to a deal,” according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. This isn’t a surprise. Schwarber’s camp is trying to drive the price up and get more teams involved, which goes on in every free agent negotiation. The belief across the league is still that Schwarber returns to the Phillies, according to multiple reports.