Categories: 2020 OffseasonNewsRumors

Braves interest in Realmuto looms as Phillies try to close the deal

We can promise you this much: J.T. Realmuto will sign a contract somewhere.

J.T. Realmuto is a free agent. (Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)

The Phillies are “trying to close the deal” on Realmuto, according to Jon Heyman of RADIO.COM. As Heyman previously mentioned, the Phillies’ deal for Realmuto is said to be worth around $110 million. Jayson Stark of The Athletic first reported that the potential deal was for five years and worth “just north” of $100 million.

The Atlanta Braves are still seemingly in on the bidding. Heyman mentions that the Braves may prefer a short-term deal. Robert Murray of FanSided first mentioned the Braves’ interest in Realmuto.

It’s pretty obvious that the Braves are in on the bidding to drive up in the price for the Phillies. They are known to give out big one-year deals but it’s unlikely that they can make an offer that’s good enough for Realmuto to leave more than $100 million on the table.

The Braves do have a hole in the middle of their lineup with Marcell Ozuna on the market but they have a Sliver Slugger-winning catcher in Travis d’Arnaud on their roster and a promising backstop in William Contreras on their 40-man roster. They could look to trade d’Arnaud, who only has one-year remaining on his contract.

At this point, it seems as if Realmuto’s camp is looking to see if the Phillies would be willing to increase their offer. If Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies front office believe they have no other reason to do so, they could sit on the offer. Realmuto could be looking to match or exceed Joe Mauer’s $23 million average-annual value record for a catcher and a five-year/$110 million offer falls just short of that.