Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto still among this spring’s missing

With ten days until their Opening Day, the Philadelphia Phillies’ star catcher, J.T. Realmuto, was finally scheduled to play in a spring training game. And then, an hour later, he wasn’t – scratched from the reported line-up for the Tigers-Phillies game in Clearwater hours before the game Mar. 21.

Realmuto’s tenure on the bench for actual competition grew by another day. This all began with an injury, a minor fracture in the thumb of his throwing hand, on the first day of practice, Feb. 12.

The Phillies TV team on Sunday, Ben Davis and Ruben Amaro Jr., verified very early in the game broadcast that Realmuto had been scratched, but didn’t explain why he’d been replaced in the DH slot by Bryce Harper.

The Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto has still had no competitive at bats this spring.

It was noted even before the scratch was alluded to that it was an unnaturally cold day in the Pandemic Lovers State. People on the grass-covered hill beyond the outfield fence were wrapped in beach towels over whatever beneath, but likely not bathing suits.

When Harper came to bat in the DH slot third in the first inning, Davis and Amaro then observed that Realmuto had taken quite a few swings in batting practice the previous day, and that the cold probably factored into the “late” change.

Promises to discuss this matter with manager Girardi during the broadcast were made.

Thumbs were twiddled. The mind ran away to questions like: Is cold weather more dangerous, as such, to a recently healed broken thumb? On the throwing hand?

Any Little Leaguer who has played in a game on a cold April evening can tell you a baseball slamming into a glove or swinging a bat into pitch without a decent grip on the bat hurts much worse in the cold.

But does throwing in the cold make a recently broken finger ache more? A throwing motion would seem to increase blood flow in the hand….

Is there an orthopod in the house?

Switch gears: A search through America’s news network (read, Twitter) revealed Joe Girardi had already told MLB Network Radio that Realmuto was scratched because of “general soreness.”

The Phillies manager was miked up finally in the fourth inning. Asked about the Realmuto matter, he noted that the catcher took about “seven to ten at bats” Saturday, and that he was still hopeful his catcher would be available for Opening Day. Three DH at bats didn’t matter.

Girardi didn’t sound especially hopeful, however, and wouldn’t commit to Realmuto even playing in the Phillies next game.

This was because he wanted “to see how he feels” before the Mar. 22 evening game against the Yankees.

Phillies fans have to hope that Realmuto, the guy ESPN says saved 11 runs in the past two seasons, isn’t being covered by a subtle smokescreen right now.