Phillies reportedly haven’t initiated talks with J.T. Realmuto since spring training shutdown

The Philadelphia Phillies and J.T. Realmuto are at a bit of strange place in regards to contract discussions.

According to Rob Maaddi of The Associated Press, Realmuto is willing to talk with the Phillies about a contract extension during the season, though the team hasn’t begun those conversations:

I'm told J.T. Realmuto hasn't set a deadline for contract talks with the #Phillies because there haven't been discussions since the pandemic shutdown. He has never received an actual offer. He'd be willing to discuss a deal during the season but the team hasn't initiated talks.

— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) August 11, 2020

Back in March, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Realmuto’s camp was targeting an extension similar to the five-year/$130 million deal that the St. Louis Cardinals signed Paul Goldschmidt to last March. 

When asked before the season started if he was willing to negotiate a new deal during the season, Realmuto told the collective media, including Phillies Nation’s Tim Kelly, that he was focusing on the season.

“To be honest, I’m focused on the season at this point,” Realmuto said. “There’s no telling what’s going to happen. Nothing has happened thus far, so all I can do is go out and focus on the season and try to make this team as good as I can and help this team win ballgames.”

Realmuto’s teammates, including Bryce Harper, have been vocal about their teammate’s situation.

“I think he’s a great player and a great individual that we need in our clubhouse as a leader and as a person,” Harper told the collective media, including Phillies Nation’s Destiny Lugardo, back on July 23. “Hopefully, we can get that deal done and he can be in pinstripes for the rest of his career.”

Harper, who has the third-largest contract in MLB history, knows re-signing Realmuto is important for the entire organization.

“I just think he’d help us as an organization,” Harper said. “And that’s it, plain and simple. I think (Matt) Klentak knows that. I think John (Middleton) knows that. I think a lot of guys in this organization know that. I just want to be able to set this organization up in the long-term and try to win as many games to get back to the good days of ’08 and ’09 and winning a World Series.”

Realmuto, 29, is hitting .306/.359/.722 with five home runs and 12 RBIs in 10 games. Since the Phillies resumed play last Monday against the Yankees, Realmuto is 9-for-26 with four home runs, eight RBIs and eight runs scored. That is a slashline of .391/.462/.913:

J.T. CRUSHED this one pic.twitter.com/zKiX2exSFg

— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) August 10, 2020

It still seems hard to imagine the Phillies letting Realmuto leave in free agency, though things do appear to be trending towards the club letting him test free agency. Perhaps no team will meet his asking price, leaving the Phillies to come through and re-sign him. However, it would only take one suitor with a lucrative offer to potentially woo Realmuto away…

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