Aug 19, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber (12) celebrates his home run with catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline
Earlier this month, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that the Pittsburgh Pirates were interested in Kyle Schwarber, which raised some eyebrows.
As it turns out, Schwarber isn't the only long-time Phillie that the Buccos have their eyes on.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post wrote this in his latest notes column:
"The Pirates are aiming even higher as they move seriously into free agent waters for the first time in a decade; they’re pursuing Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto, among others."
The Pirates currently have a pair of top-five picks on their depth chart at catcher.
Joey Bart was the No. 2 overall pick by the San Francisco Giants in 2018, and revived his career after a change of scenery with the Pirates in 2024, posting a .799 OPS in 80 games. However, he regressed to a .695 OPS across 93 games this past year.
Henry Davis was the No. 1 overall selection in the 2021 MLB Draft. The Pirates have moved him back and forth between catcher and right field. He's a catcher again, but his bat has never come around, as he's hit just .181 with a .556 OPS in 186 career games.
Bart will play next season at age 29, while Davis will be 26. But the Pirates — who have already wasted two seasons with Paul Skenes — might not be inclined to wait another year to see if either develops.
There are more cynical reasons why the Pirates might be inclined to spend this offseason.
The first — as outlined by Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic — is that Pittsburgh is at risk of having a grievance filed against them by the MLBPA for not reinvesting their revenue sharing dollars in payroll.
The second might be conspiratorial, but not to the Alex Jones degree. There's likely going to be a work stoppage next offseason when the current collective bargaining agreement expires. Pittsburgh owner Bob Nutting will probably be someone who pushes for a salary cap. It will be easier for him to make the case that the Pirates can't compete without a salary cap if they actually make an effort in 2026.
The Pirates finished last season with an $84 million payroll, which Spotrac says was 27th out of 30 teams. Can Nutting and the Pirates spend as much as the $350 million payroll the Los Angeles Dodgers had last season? Almost certainly not. But the gap isn't as big as the Pirates have made it seem in recent years, and it may be hard for Nutting to even get some of his fellow owners on his side when he clearly hasn't put his best foot forward recently.
It's still fair to wonder whether the Pirates are going to make a major investment(s) this offseason, or if they are just posturing like they will. Specifically in the case of Schwarber, it's hard to imagine them making a $125+ million investment when the largest deal that Pittsburgh has given in their history was a three-year/$48 million deal to Francisco Liriano in December of 2014.
Perhaps Realmuto — who I projected on Bleacher Report to get a three-year/$45 million contract — would be a player that the Pirates are willing to make a competitive offer for.
With that said, Realmuto didn't make the postseason until his eighth full season. He's now gotten a taste of October baseball in four consecutive years. Does he, entering his age-35 season, want to sign with a team that hasn't reached the playoffs since 2015? Even if the Pirates spend this winter, are they going to moving forward? Will they pay to keep Skenes as he gets more expensive in the arbitration process?
Even if the Pirates don't seem to be an ideal landing spot for Realmuto, it's clear the Phillies will have some competition for the three-time All-Star. Earlier this week, the aforementioned Rosenthal and Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reported that the Boston Red Sox were "showing interest" in Realmuto.
