Phillies Rumors: PHI Willing to Pay J.T. Realmuto $23M Per Year in New Contract

Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto is set to become a free agent after this season, but it appears his club could spend big money to keep him behind the plate at Citizens Bank Park.

According to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia, the club is willing to pay him in the neighborhood of $23 million per year over the next four to six seasons. 

That number is far from the one-year, $10 million deal Realmuto was awarded in arbitration this offseason—a figure that was below the $12.4 million the catcher was seeking. 

Realmuto has become a cornerstone on a club that cracked open its World Series window after signing outfielder Bryce Harper to a 13-year, $330 million deal last February. 

An average salary of $23 million would put him roughly $3 million below Harper's annual earnings and would make Realmuto the highest-paid catcher in baseball, topping Buster Posey's $22.2 million 2020 salary (not accounting for prorated figures), per Spotrac.com. Realmuto will be the sixth-highest paid at his position during the upcoming season. 

He's also proved worthy of a significant investment.

In 2019, Realmuto slashed .275/.328/.493 with 25 home runs and 83 RBI. He's one of the hardest catchers to run on, with a career caught-stealing rate of 36.4 percent, behind only Cleveland's Roberto Perez (39.3 percent) and St. Louis' Yadier Molina (40.2 percent). Realmuto led the majors in that category last year by a wide margin at 46.7 percent, nearly seven percentage points higher than second-place Perez. 

The Phillies acquired Realmuto, 29, from the Miami Marlins in February 2019, sending Jorge Alfaro, Sixto Sanchez and Will Stewart in return. 

A two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner, Realmuto could be in Philadelphia for the long haul.