After all, JT Realmuto returns to Philadelphia. Star catcher and Phillies agree on a five-year, $ 115.5 million deal, a source told MLB.com on Tuesday. The club did not confirm the agreement.
The contract, as reported, has the highest annual average value (AAV) for a catcher in MLB history, at $ 23.1 million, exceeding the $ 23 million AAV of the 2010 contract extension by Joe Mauer with the twins. The Realmuto deal also sets a new record for a free agent contract for a catcher, which exceeds Brian McCann’s $ 85 million pact with the Yankees in 2013.
The deal includes a $ 20 million salary this year, but with $ 10 million of it postponed, to be paid in $ 5 million installments in 2026 and ’27 and a $ 23.875 million a year salary. from 2022-25. A move of $ 1 million is included if Realmuto is traded, according to a source.
Being one of the best backstops in the game, Realmuto was a hot commodity in the free agency. In 2019, his first season with the Phillies, after a blockbuster transaction in Miami, won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award. In the ’20s he posted the best offensive numbers of his career with 123 OPS + and 11 home runs in 195 appearances on the set, all while controlling the running game, as well as almost anyone in the Majors.
Realmuto turned down a $ 18.9 million qualification offer from the Phillies, opting to test the open market for the first time in its career. After being recruited by Marlin in the third round of the 2010 draft, he spent the first five years of his career in Miami before being sent to Philadelphia in a package that included right-back Sixto Sánchez.
The 29-year-old winner is a .278 career player with 111 OPS + and is a two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner. In 2017-19, the 15.0-win replacement of Realmuto, according to FanGraphs, ranked first in the standings and 13th among all players in the position.
Todd Zolecki has covered the Phillies since 2003, and for MLB.com since 2009. Watch him Twitter and Facebook.