Jun 15, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette (11) on deck against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline
The Phillies have given J.T. Realmuto time and space in free agency, but might their patience be running out?
Saturday evening, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported that "the Phillies are among a number of big-market teams to have interest in Bo Bichette."
There's multiple levels to break down here.
First of all, Bichette is a tremendous offensive player, one who led the American League in hits in both 2021 and 2022, and likely would have in 2025 if a knee injury didn't force him to miss much of September. He and Trea Turner would give the Phillies a real element of contact in their lineup. Bichette isn't your prototypical cleanup hitter, but if the Phillies signed him, it would significantly improve the No. 4 spot in the lineup, whether he hit there or bumped someone else down.
Defensively, Bichette has graded out poorly as a shortstop for much of his career on the Toronto Blue Jays, with minus-19 defensive runs saved and minus-32 outs above average. With that said, Bichette shifted to second base in the World Series after returning from his left knee sprain, and MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported that "the two-time All-Star has let potential suitors know that he is ready, willing and able to move to second base." It would probably be even better for the Phillies purposes if Bichette was willing to play third base, but to get a 27-year-old that hit .311 last season, second base could work.
Are the Phillies telling JT Realmuto to take it or leave it? Sure seems like they are putting pressure on him to sign now or they will move on. I think it’s the correct strategy. Enough is enough
Still, for as good as Bichette is, you're left to wonder if the Phillies have put this information out there to try to put pressure on Realmuto to make a decision or else they'll pivot. Whether it's more years or dollars Realmuto wants (probably both), he's a catcher entering his age-35 season that posted a .700 OPS last season. The Phillies would like to have him back, but to this point, no other major suitor has emerged, and it's unclear why one would now if it hasn't already. It's time for a decision.
The longer Realmuto waits on the market, though, the more it's fair to consider alternatives. We put out our Opening Day lineup projection 1.0 last week, and it's clear that the Phillies lineup would look better with Realmuto than Rafael Marchán starting at catcher. Still, the middle of this order would seem to be pretty underwhelming if Realmuto is the only remaining move, especially since he probably is best equipped to hit seventh or eighth at this stage of his career:
2026 is officially here, and with Opening Day just 82 days away, our @TimKellySports put together his first Phillies lineup projection of the offseason👇 pic.twitter.com/uLfijus5bW
If the Phillies were to add Bichette into the lineup and then trade either Alec Bohm or Bryson Stott, it would substantially improve their lineup. They would be taking a step backwards at catcher, but the lineup as a whole would be improved.
Of course, Bichette and Realmuto aren't going to sign comparable contracts. Realmuto is likely looking at two years making between $12 and $15 million per season. At the outset of the offseason, I projected over on Bleacher Report that Bichette would sign for seven years and $210 million. Whether he ends up getting that type of deal or not, he's probably looking at making between $27 and $30 million per year. And given that the Phillies don't do opt outs, they probably aren't a candidate to sign him to a massive short-term deal with the chance to return to free agency soon.
But if you take the $12-15 million budgeted towards Realmuto and then trade Bohm — who is projected to make $10.3 million in his final year of arbitration — you aren't far off from the amount Bichette is likely to command in 2026. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski would still likely need to convince managing partner John Middleton to add a little more to the 2026 budget, but with Nick Castellanos and Taijuan Walker making a combined $38 million in the final years of their contracts, some money will open up after this year. You can at least talk yourself into it.
The most likely scenario probably remains that the Phillies bring back Realmuto, and then that's the club that they head into the season with. But the three-time All-Star catcher should be careful in how long he lingers on the free-agent market, because with each passing day, some of the alternative options are starting to sound more appealing.
