Philadelphia Phillies and All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto are nowhere close to agreeing to a new contract. This was revealed by Realmuto on Thursday in a conference call with reporters.
Realmuto is set to become a free agent after the season, and the two sides have been engaged in contract negotiations since early this year. However, the talks haven’t been fruitful then, and it appears things didn’t change much during the coronavirus pandemic break.
“We were in the really preliminary stages (of negotiations) early on in spring training before the pandemic, and we haven’t really gone anywhere since then, so if we could focus on the team here and speak a little bit less about myself that would be greatly appreciated,” said Realmuto.
Realmuto is reportedly asking to reset the market for catchers and is eyeing a contract north of $23 million. However, Phillies don’t seem ready to make such commitment if we are to judge by recent comments made by the team’s general manager Matt Klentak.
“The landscape that we left in March is different from the one we return to now. We just have to see how that manifests itself in our discussions,” Klentak told reporters last week.
J.T. Realmuto spent his early career with Miami Marlins and joined Philadelphia Phillies just ahead of last season. Realmuto ended up having an impressive first campaign in Philly, hitting .275 alongside 25 home runs and 83 RBIs.
Realmuto’s career highlights include two All-Star appearances, one All-MLB First Team selection, and two Silver Slugger Awards.
