The Rays rarely make major forays into the free agent market, and it was widely expected that Realmuto would eventually return to Philadelphia. Beyond those two points, though, it makes a lot of sense why the Rays would have 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 BichetteFor example, Realmuto’s chances of a reunion might have gotten a lot slimmer, leaving the door open for the Rays (or another catcher-needy team) to swoop in with an offer.
Zach EflinThe three-year deal worth $40 million starting in the 2022-2023 offseason represents the largest contract the Rays have ever given to a free agent. This isn’t far below what Realmuto got from the Phillies, and if Philadelphia had gotten out of the Realmuto market altogether, there might have been an opportunity for the Rays to make a similar offer, or perhaps even a matching average annual value on a two-year deal. In fact, MLB Trade Rumors predicted a two-year, $30 million deal for Realmuto, but the Phils ultimately added a third year with the same average annual value of $15 million.
Besides the Phillies, the Red Sox were the only other team known to have interest in Realmuto this winter. The Rangers were a speculative suitor, but reports indicated that the team’s limited budget would not allow such a pursuit. Among other contenders or potential contenders, the Giants, Reds, Pirates or Marlins might have made sense, but there was no indication that any of these clubs (several of which also operate with lower payrolls) were putting any pressure on Realmuto.
As usual in Tampa Bay, there has been a lot of shuffling this offseason, with some relatively more expensive players moved and other players brought in to fill holes in a slightly cheaper way. Steven Matz, Carlo MullinsAnd Jake Fraley were all signed for a combined $25 million, so the Rays added three players for just over the $22.5 million they would have been owed Brandon Lowe And Pete Fairbanks if the two had been preserved. The end result is a payroll that will probably look about the same as last year – Grid source estimates the Rays’ 2026 payroll at about $80.1 million, compared to their 2025 payroll of $78.9 million.
Signing Realmuto could have resulted in the Rays having to release another prominent salary to make up the numbers. Losing someone like that Yandy Diaz adding Realmuto may not have been a welcome trade-off for Tampa’s lineup, but with Diaz entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, that might be a move the Rays would have been open to making to finally shore up the catching position.
President of baseball operations Erik Neander said in November that the Rays were open to catchers, saying:If we can find a way to get better at that position, we will, but those are two guys [Nick Fortes and Hunter Feduccia] we appreciate. As we go into next year and that’s where we are now – a lot of players, we’re counting on developing from where they were, and that’s certainly true for those two and [we] I think they can give us more than this year.”
Fortes and Feduccia are currently lined up as the Rays’ top two catchers, with Logan Driscoll and non-schedule invitation Blake Sabol as the only other backstops in the organization with any MLB experience. In a sign that the position has been a revolving door for the Rays, Fortes and Feduccia have each only been with the team since July, as the duo were acquired from the Marlins and Dodgers, respectively, in deadline trades.
Fortes is a glove-first catcher who has hit just .224/.280/.345 over 1,174 plate appearances in the majors. Feduccia also doesn’t have a hit on the Show, but only in the limited sample of 119 PA, with 102 of those trips to the plate coming after the trade from Los Angeles. Feduccia is formally a top-rated prospect in the LA farm system, has strong Triple-A numbers and may be an untapped resource as a hitter even though he is already 28 years old.
With Realmuto back in Philadelphia and Victor Caratini now signed by the Twins, the top two options on the free agent catching market quickly left the board within 24 hours. Rather than seeking out other free agents who may not represent clear upgrades, the Rays appear to prefer to seek trade help, as Rosenthal writes. The odds are also quite slim on this front, but teams like the Royals, Cardinals or Pirates could potentially have enough catching depth to rival Tampa Bay as trading partners.
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