Call to the pen
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Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto smoke signals – um – strong or…not

By Rick Soisson

BUFFALO, NEW YORK - AUGUST 20: J.T. Realmuto #10 of the Philadelphia Phillies signals during the first inning of game one of a double header against the Toronto Blue Jays at Sahlen Field on August 20, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. The Blue Jays are the home team and are playing their home games in Buffalo due to the Canadian government’s policy on coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NEW YORK - AUGUST 20: J.T. Realmuto #10 of the Philadelphia Phillies signals during the first inning of game one of a double header against the Toronto Blue Jays at Sahlen Field on August 20, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. The Blue Jays are the home team and are playing their home games in Buffalo due to the Canadian government’s policy on coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) /
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The Phillies could still be in play for J.T. Realmuto. But it is more likely that his market will not go anywhere for some time.

It is an exercise to go through nearly every day, even the day after a failed coup in the nation’s capital – check the local news and Philadelphia Phillies website for “indicators” about the destination of free agent J.T. Realmuto.

The All-Star catcher, of course, went through two years with the Phillies, the last full season probably the best of his career, without them seeming to see his value well enough to make a decent, firm offer of a new contract.

This is not sitting well with the Fightin’ Faithful.

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On Jan. 7, though, Phillies fans had an initial reason to have some hope their team might arrange for Realmuto’s career to continue in Philadelphia. The top headline in the Phillies section of Inquirer.com read: “Dave Dombrowski says the Phillies would love to have J.T. Realmuto back.”

For Phillies fans who tuned out baseball news after the Phillies were eliminated from playoff contention last season, this might have seemed hopeful. For others, to quote a famous catcher who may have been quoting someone else, it was “déjà vu all over again.”

All Matt Breen could report was that Dombrowski delivered himself of the obvious in an interview on MLB Network Radio: The Phillies “need a catcher,” although they “basically have one in Andrew Knapp.”

The team’s new president then sent reporters scrambling to stop the presses with: “J.T. is still out there. He’s somebody we would love to have as part of our organization,” but he added in a curiously Trumpian turn of phrase, “we’ll see what ends up happening in that regard.”

In other words, the Phillies have moved not one step away from their stance when they hired Dombrowski almost a month ago.

Oh, well, at least Breen’s piece gave us an updated list of Realmuto’s other suitors – the Nationals, Yankees, Astros, Blue Jays, and Dodgers – no, wait, let’s not go too far. These teams “could” join the race for the catcher.

Clearly, the new normal for high-profile (read, expensive) free agents, like J.T. Realmuto or Trevor Bauer this year, is such that it would better be covered by a joint statement from several or most MLB teams. This declaration could cover several players at once, reading as follows: “Look guys, ain’t none of us signing none of these guys until somebody’s dumb enough to dish out a lot for one of them. Then we’ll let you know we’re starting to think about the others.”

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It would leave time for Matt Breen to research an earlier use of “Yogi’s wording” about déjà vu than Clifford Terry’s in 1966.

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