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Phillies Make J.T. Realmuto Deal Official, DFA Weston Wilson
Published:
The J.T. Realmuto news is official:
The Phillies have re-signed catcher J.T. Realmuto to a three-year contract. Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski made the announcement.
Realmuto has spent the last seven seasons in Philadelphia (2019-current) and over his time with the Phillies, he has made two All-Star teams (2019 and 2021), won two Gold Glove Awards (2019, 2022) and two Silver Slugger Awards (2019, 2022). In 833 career games for the Phillies, he has combined to slash .265/.328/.450 with a .778 OPS and 110 OPS+.
Since joining the Phillies in 2019, Realmuto ranks first among all catchers and 25th among all MLB position players in fWAR (25.1). In 2025, he started a career-high 132 games and caught a career-high 1151.1 innings as he led MLB in both categories. His 1151.1 innings behind the plate were the most by a catcher age 34 or older since Jason Kendall in 2009 at the age of 35 (1162.0). Realmuto finished the season with 2.6 bWAR, the highest by a catcher age 34 or older since Buster Posey in 2021 at the age of 34 (3.6 bWAR).
Per Statcast, Realmuto led all catchers in baseball for the ninth consecutive season with a 1.86 pop time from home to second base. His sprint speed (28.4 ft/sec) matched last year’s number and ranked in the 76th percentile among all players, and third among catchers.
In the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Realmuto led the Phillies with a 1.118 OPS as he tallied six hits, with two doubles, one triple, one home run and three RBI.
A native of Choctaw, Okla., Realmuto was originally selected by the Florida Marlins in the third round of the 2010 MLB Draft. He was traded by the Marlins to the Phillies on Feb. 7, 2019, and signed a five-year contract extension with the club taking him through the 2025 season on Jan. 29, 2021.
To make room for Realmuto on the 40-man roster, infielder/outfielder Weston Wilson was designated for assignment.
You hope and pray J.T. has something left in the tank. He’ll be 35 going into the season and finished 2025 with his worst hitting numbers in several years, slashing .257/.315/.384 for a .700 OPS. It’s been a steady decline from 2022, the World Series year, when he hit .276 and slugged .478 with 22 home runs and a career-high 84 RBI.
There’s not a lot of tread on the tires. Even at age 34 he played 134 regular season games and then every game of the playoffs. He’s played 1,401 games since his 2014 Marlins debut and while Rafael Marchan showed a glimpse or two last season, there really isn’t a bona fide, slam dunk catcher ready to take the role. Hence the three-year deal for a guy in his mid-30s.
RE: Wilson, not sure he was the guy we were expecting to make way for Realmuto. Will he clear waivers? Maybe they’re high on Otto Kemp as the guy to platoon with Brandon Marsh in left field.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com