Stark: Phillies Make “Nine-Figure Offer” To J.T. Realmuto

As the Delayed Hot Stove continues to get warmer, Jayson Stark of The Athletic reports the Philadelphia Phillies have made a five-year, nine-figure offer to catcher J.T. Realmuto to stay with the club.

Stark believes the offer to be “slightly north of $100 million,” which is around where the Phillies were when they originally offered Realmuto a deal around the time president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski joined the team. Stark asked Dombrowski about the report, but he declined to comment due to the privacy the matters require.

The latest offer comes off the heels of reports that Dombrowski and Realmuto met up to get to know each other last month. “Everything went great,” Dombrowski said to NBC Sports Philadelphia regarding the meeting. “It’s apparent why everyone in the Phillies organization thinks so highly of J.T. as a person and a player.”

Realmuto–the best catcher on the market (and in baseball)–has drawn interest from several teams throughout the offseason outside of the Phillies, primarily from the Blue Jays and Nationals. The Mets had interest, too, before signing James McCann to a four-year, $40 million deal.