Philadelphia Phillies: Ranking possible J.T. Realmuto landing spots
By Nick Stevens
A return to the Philadelphia Phillies could be in the works for J.T. Realmuto.
The year was 2011. That was the last time the Philadelphia Phillies appeared in the MLB playoffs, an early Divisional Series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Phillies would finish with a .500 record the following year before entering a long, cold rebuild in Philadelphia that saw the organization post six-straight losing seasons. Spending “stupid money” was supposed to put the Phillies back in the playoffs, but a roster with Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, and others failed to get the job done.
Now, Didi Gregorius, Jake Arrieta, Realmuto, and other key pieces are free agents and the front office is in free fall, leaving fans wondering what exactly the offseason will look like.
They didn’t listen to Bryce Harper who campaigned loudly for his friend, but the Phillies have an opportunity to lock in their backstop with a lucrative deal and give hope they can turn things around quickly in a division that is only getting more competitive.
Payroll concerns shouldn’t be an issue for Philadelphia, leaving them in a position to sign J.T. Realmuto and others in an aggressive offseason. But will they?
Letting Realmuto sign with another team won’t get the Philadelphia Phillies any closer to finally making the playoffs again and considering the fact that they traded away one of their top prospects in Sixto Sanchez to originally acquire Realmuto, the Phillies should be eager to see some sort of return on their investment.
It’s early in the offseason, but Philadelphia sits at the top of this power ranking, as long as they are finally willing to shell out the cash. They should have listened to Harper months ago. Sign him.