J.T. Realmuto out for weekend series against Blue Jays

J.T. Realmuto is out for the entire weekend series against Toronto.

The Philadelphia Phillies are clinging to the eighth seed in the National League postseason standings as we approach the final week of the season.

The team is without Jake Arrieta, Rhys Hoskins, Jay Bruce, and perhaps most importantly, catcher J.T. Realmuto. The Phillies All-Star catcher has not played since September 12 and the team is in the midst of a rough 3-7 stretch. Time is running out and the margin between making and missing the postseason is slim. More bad news about Realmuto doesn’t help the cause.

J.T. Realmuto remains out

The Phillies have gone all-in to acquire talent in a quest to return to the postseason for the first time since 2011. Bryce Harper is the marquee name, but Realmuto is one of the top at his position in all of baseball. That is why another disappointing season in the standings is so frustrating. Fans may be wondering if all these contracts are worth the money.

Realmuto is also a free agent after the season and may be out of the Phillies’ price range given the $155 million already on the books for next season before accounting for arbitration players and new signings.

The catcher has played in 41 games and has been solid with a slash line of .267/.357/.527 along with 11 home runs and 30 RBIs. But the team is still sitting with a 24-25 record. That feels plenty familiar to the final mark of 80-82 last season in what was supposed to be a year ending with play in October.

A positive sign is that Realmuto has not hit the injured list. There is no real point of placing him there anyway given the regular season is over next Sunday. Getting him back in the lineup at some point would be a boost. However, the other stars in the lineup need to carry their weight as well if the Phillies want to sneak into the expanded postseason.