Phillies already in damage control mode with JT Realmuto

The Phillies are making it sound like JT Realmuto will not be coming back in 2021.

JT Realmuto has been everything the Philadelphia Phillies could’ve hoped he’d be after acquiring him from the Miami Marlins. Unfortunately, GM Matt Klentak and the front office are preparing for the catcher to test the open market in free agency.

Klentak is trying to ease the pain a potential Realmuto loss would do to the fanbase. While conceding right-hander Sixto Sanchez, who was traded to Miami in that deal, has been electric to start his MLB career, Klentak said that Realmuto has been very productive in his two seasons as a Phillie.

JT Realmuto has been white-hot for the Phillies in 2020.

Realmuto has made the All-Star team in 2018 and 2019, and his production in 2020 would’ve likely landed him a spot on the All-Star team again had there been a game this year. Realmuto is hitting .267 with 11 home runs and 30 RBI in 41 games. Over 162 games, Realmuto would’ve hit 43 home runs and 117 RBIs if he kept hitting at this exact clip.

While the Phillies have to be pleased with his production, letting him walk after two seasons would be a major disappointment considering the stockpile of elite prospects Philly sent to Miami. The jewel of that trade for Miami was Sanchez, a 21-year-old who has ridden his blistering fastball to a 2.75 ERA in his first six MLB starts. The young Dominican righty is oozing star potential.

Phillies fans aren’t overly pleased with Klentak at the moment, and losing Realmuto might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

It doesn’t matter how productive Realmuto has been in his two years in Philadelphia. If they fail to win a championship in 2020, a feat that is looking harder to achieve by the day, the Phillies risk the possibility of handing a division rival one of the game’s best young pitchers for two above-average years of production at catcher.