While he is by no means a needle-mover at this point, the Philadelphia Phillies reluctantly needed J.T. Realmuto’s glove behind the dish going into 2026. There were rumors all offseason about the Phillies pivoting from the “run it back” offense, but after losing out on Bo Bichette they decided to stick with what they know.
Of course, there's the fact that Realmuto is comfortable with the pitching staff. He’ll be a fantastic first battery mate for the younger pitchers who could make an MLB debut this year, like Andrew Painter or Zach McCambley. However, with consistently declining offensive performance, age is not necessarily on Realmuto’s side, given the physically demanding position.