Dombrowski provides update on Realmuto, Gregorius

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto met in person in Realmuto’s home state of Oklahoma on Dec. 23, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. The two, along with Dombrowski’s wife Karie, one of Karie’s relatives and Realmuto’s wife Lexi met over lunch. Contract negotiations did not take place.

The Dombrowski’s originally planned a trip to Oklahoma, where Karie is from. Dombrowski reached out to Realmuto’s agent Jeff Berry to see if he would be interested in meeting. According to Dombrowski, they had “a really nice conversation.”

Dombrowski remains “hopeful” about the possibility of getting a deal done.

“We’d love to get something like this done sooner rather than later,” Dombrowski told Salisbury. “But there’s no immediate pressure at this point.”

The market for Realmuto’s services has yet to develop. The Mets have been out since December, the Nationals may be done upgrading the lineup and the Blue Jays’ interest may lie elsewhere with DJ LeMahieu and George Springer still on the board. The Angels would probably prefer to spend their money on pitching.

The Phillies could be the only team seriously in on Realmuto.

Another former Phillie whose market has yet to develop is Didi Gregorius. Salisbury reported Tuesday that the Phillies “continue to be engaged with” Gregorius and Dombrowski confirmed, saying “We’re interested in signing him.”

On a recent appearance on MLB Network Radio, Dombrowski outlined three key needs for the Phillies: the bullpen, catcher and shortstop.

“We have a couple of guys that can go over there and play in Segura and Kingery but we’re also in a position where they have both been second baseman,” Dombrowski said. “Segura can play third. Kingery can play the outfield.”

It appears the Phillies would like to be stronger up the middle and utilize both Segura and Kingery’s positional flexibility. If they sign Gregorius, they would probably like to have him on a one-year deal so they can be players in next year’s loaded class of free-agent shortstops.

Earlier this offseason, the Los Angeles Angels and Cincinnati Reds reportedly expressed interest in Gregorius. Since then, Los Angeles acquired a shortstop of their own in José Iglesias and the Reds are looking to shed payroll anyway they can.

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