#jt-realmuto

#jt-realmuto

Anyone who receives 75% of the vote or more will join second baseman Jeff Kent as part of the 2026 Hall of Fame class. This year's class of newcomers to the ballot is headlined by southpaw Cole Hamels, though the lefty won't be inducted on his first ballot. Outfielder Manny Ramirez is entering his final year on the ballot and will surely miss out on induction due to PED usage during his career, as steroid era legends like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have before him.

The Rays rarely make major forays into the free agent market, and it was widely assumed that Realmuto would eventually return to Philadelphia. Beyond these two points, however, it makes plenty of sense why the Rays would've checked in Realmuto, given both their needs behind the plate and the fact that Realmuto lingered on the open market until mid-January. Had the Phillies successfully signed Bo Bichette, for instance, Realmuto's chances of a reunion might've gotten a lot slimmer, leaving the door open for the Rays (or another catcher-needy team) to swoop in with an offer.

Realmuto has been one of the best catchers of recent history, if not the very best. He has been a mainstay in the big leagues for over a decade now. From 2015 to 2025, he appeared in at least 125 games in all but one full season. The only exception was 2024, when a knee injury limited him to 99 contests. For that 11-year span, he led the majors among primary catchers with 1,362 games played and 36.7 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs.

According to a report from Ken Rosenthal and Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, the Red Sox are checking in on free agent catcher J.T. Realmuto. "The Red Sox are showing interest in J.T. Realmuto, according to people briefed on their discussions," noted The Athletic report. Now 34, Realmuto would add leadership to a team potentially in need of it should third baseman Alex Bregman leave in the offseason. Boston already has catchers Carlos Narváez and the recently re-signed Connor Wong. Realmuto hit .257 with 12 home runs and a .700 OPS in 2025, playing in 134 games for Philadelphia.

The Blue Jays' catching depth isn't quite as deep as it used to be after trading away Danny Jansen and Gabriel Moreno over the course of past few seasons. That bet ended up paying off for Toronto as the team saw its heights with a catching tandem of Alejandro Kirk and Tyler Heineman in 2025. Both catchers played well, but a large part of the Blue Jays' success on the catching side came from Kirk excellently executing every aspect of his position, from framing to offence. The fact that the Blue Jays always put Kirk in the lineup for almost the entirety of the 2025 postseason run was a testament to their faith in the main catcher.