May 21, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto in a game against the Texas Rangers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports Bill Streicher
During his end-of-season press conference this past October, Phillies manager Rob Thomson hinted that he believed catcher J.T. Realmuto — who will turn 34 in March — could benefit from a bit more frequent rest moving forward.
Thomson, though, acknowledged with a smile that he would "have some convincing to do" given that Realmuto has been remarkably durable in his career and wants to play as much as possible.
With pitchers and catchers set to report to Clearwater next Tuesday, it sounds like Thomson still has some work to do in regards to convincing Realmuto that what's best for him at this stage of his career might not be catching 1,100+ innings during the regular season, something he's done on four occasions.
In an appearance on "The Phillies Show," Realmuto was asked by Todd Zolecki about trying to balance wanting to catch as frequently as possible with having the bigger picture in mind.
"I don't know. To be honest, I don't think there's a perfect answer because I truly don't know what the best thing to do is," Realmuto said.
"I think you go off of how I feel. I like this narrative ... you know how narratives always get started ... I've been healthy pretty much my whole career. Last year was the first year I haven't caught, whatever, 130 games. And it's not like I got hurt because I was being overcaught. I got hurt in May in a rainy game that I hit a triple and was legging a triple out and tweaked my leg around second base. If I was like grinding through a season and it was August and wear and tear and then I was getting hurt, I would get the 'Hey, let's play less.' But for me, my body feels as good right now as it ever has. Like I don't feel like I'm getting old.
"But with that, I understand the want to keep me healthy and keep me productive as long as possible. So, I'm sure Thoms and I will have those conversations on a daily [basis]."
To be clear, the narrative that Realmuto is referring to about his workload potentially needing to be lessened comes largely from both Thomson and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski suggesting it last October.
Last year, Realmuto caught 871 1/3 innings, his lowest amount over a 162-game season in his career. However, that mark wasn't because his workload was managed throughout the season, it was due to him having right knee surgery in mid-June and not returning until after the All-Star Break.
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If Realmuto avoids the injured list in 2025, no one is suggesting he should catch a similar amount of innings as he did in 2024. But could he benefit from catching 1,000 innings, as opposed to 1,130? That seems like a reasonable compromise, with the potential for him to play first base or DH on some days where he's not catching. Obviously, either Rafael Marchán or Garrett Stubbs will need to prove capable on the days Realmuto isn't catching, but getting him out from behind the dish a little more often could help the three-time All-Star.
As for the aforementioned knee injury, Realmuto seems to be in a great place heading into his contract year.
"I feel great," Realmuto said. "...We ran sprints this morning at the stadium and within the last month it's been the first time I feel like I can really let loose sprinting and not feel anything.
"So even after the surgery last year, it was just kind of lingering affects," Realmuto added. "I think it was just maybe scar tissue or something from the surgery just kind of stuck around. It wasn't super painful or it obviously didn't keep me from playing a ton. But it was just something I would feel daily and like soreness and I could still feel some extra fluid in my knee, stuff like that."
Realmuto credited the training staff for his knee feeling "100% again" as he heads into a season that the Phillies will no doubt lean on him, even if it's not quite as much as they have in the past.
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