J.T. Realmuto is staying in Philadelphia. <\/p>\n
Per multiple reports<\/a>, Realmuto agreed to sign a three-year deal worth $45 million with the Phillies on Friday. The 34-year-old has spent the last seven seasons in Philadelphia and has made three All-Star teams, most recently in 2021. <\/p>\n Earlier this month, Sports Illustrated ranked Realmuto<\/a> as the top catcher still available in free agency and the eighth-best player overall. He\u2019s coming off his worst offensive season in about a decade\u2014batting .257\/.315\/.384 with 12 homers in 134 games\u2014but still, Realmuto is one of the most consistent bats at his position.<\/p>\n It was far from a guarantee that Realmuto was going to return to Philadelphia. But once the Dodgers signed free agent outfielder Kyle Tucker on Thursday night, things started to move quickly. <\/p>\n The Mets were in the mix to sign Tucker\u2014and owner Steve Cohen even tweeted a couple of pope election references<\/a> as they waited for an answer. New York reportedly offered Tucker a four-year contract worth $220 million. Once they got word that Tucker signed a four-year, $240 million contract with Los Angeles, the Mets had to scramble. They pivoted to signing infielder Bo Bichette<\/a> to a three-year contract worth $126 million on Friday.<\/p>\n Another offseason domino had fallen. The Phillies, who met with Bichette earlier this week and made an effort to sign him\u2014reportedly to a seven-year, $200 million contract<\/a>\u2014had to move on themselves. That left resources available to bring back Realmuto, who will once again serve as the primary backstop for a pitching staff that finished last season eighth in ERA (3.79) and third in strikeouts (1,471).<\/p>\n