Philly Fans Want to Know, Is J.T. Coming back to Philly?
J.T. Realmuto of the Philadelphia Phillies (YONG KIM/Photographer for the Philadelphia Inquirer)
Pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater on February 11 and the Phillies have a huge problem. Who will be their starting catcher?
JT Realmuto has still not decided where he wants to play, or maybe he has and he wants a bigger payout, only he knows. The Phillies do not have many viable internal options as of now to take his place. Sure, the Phillies do have two catchers on their 40-man roster, Rafael Marchán and Garrett Stubbs, but they are not the ones that will help solidify another division title. Why? Because neither of these players can hit enough to play every day. If either Marchán or Stubbs play behind the plate in 2026, the Phillies will have a JT-sized hole in the bottom of their lineup.
The Phillies and the 35-year-old catcher are at a stalemate in their negotiations to have the 3X All Star return to the roster. This has been confirmed by many sources and the clock continues to run ahead of spring. If they can’t bring Realmuto back, what other options does Dave Dombrowski have?
Looking at the current crop of free agents, none of them even come close to what one would consider an average player at the catcher position. Names like Christian Vázquez, Elias Díaz Reese McGuire, Austin Barnes and Gary Sánchez don’t get you excited as they’re on the wrong side of 30 without the resumé of the 2X GG winner Realmuto. The Phillies must consider Victor Caratini as the next best free agent backstop available. Though he only caught 49 games for the Astros last season, his offensive production was slightly better than the incumbent in 2025. He played some first base as well with the Astros; and hit a career high of 12 home runs in just those 49 games.
Here is a head-to-head comparison from 2025:
Caratini: .259/.325/.728 slash line – 89 hits, 12 HR, 35 Runs, 46 RBI in 114 games – 16% strikeout rate
Realmuto: .257/.315/.700 slash line – 129 hits, 12 HR, 57 Runs, 52 RBI in 132 games – 25% strikeout rate
With Caratini as a regular catcher, the Phillies really wouldn’t be losing much in the lineup, and they would save much needed funds considering their negative cap space. Without a doubt, the Phillies would be a better team with JT Realmuto as their regular catcher, mostly defensively, but also because he offers continuity on the field and in the clubhouse as a leader. That said, Rob Thompson still has two above-average defenders in Marchán and Stubbs on the depth chart. This is a thin catcher market, and Realmuto is the only true starting catcher available. Outside of the switch hitting Caratini, the Phillies would likely look to the trade market, which presents its own set of challenges.
About The Author
Mitch Bernstein is a longtime baseball fan. He is currently a phanatical Phillies phan, having supported the team for the last 30 years.
He loves dissecting each baseball game he watches: pitch by pitch, at bat by at bat. He does a weekly podcast focused primarily on major league baseball and baseball book authors. Guests have included hall of fame sportswriter Jayson Stark, best selling authors Erik Sherman, Peter Golenbock and Jane Leavy and former MLB umpire Dale Scott. You can watch his podcast The Extravaganza with Lou and Mitch at YouTube.com/@Captainlousportsnetwork7335