Realmuto is one of the best catchers in recent memory, if not the very best. He has been a mainstay in the major leagues for over a decade. From 2015 to 2025, he played in at least 125 games in all but one full season. The only exception was 2024, when a knee injury limited him to 99 games. During that eleven-year span, he led the majors among primary catchers with 1,362 games played and 36.7 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs.
The question now is what he can become in the future. He will be 35 years old in March. In 2025, he slashed .257/.315/.384. That resulted in a 94 wRC+, indicating he was 6% below league average. That’s still decent for a catcher, but it was the first time Realmuto finished below the century mark since 2015. His glovework also appears to have declined a bit, according to outlets like FanGraph, Statistics And Baseball prospectus. He can still throw away attempted base stealers and is decent in terms of blocking, but all players agree that his positioning has been subpar over the last three seasons.
Flaws aside, Realmuto is still the best free agent catcher this winter. MLBTR predicted he would land a two-year, $30 million deal, although a three-year deal isn’t completely out of the question. Others on the market include Victor Caratini And Danny Jansen. The Rangers recently added Jonah Heim on the pile when they didn’t offer it last week.
Many in the baseball world expect Realmuto to end up back in Philadelphia. He has been with the Phillies since 2019 and has already re-signed with them once as a free agent. As noted in The Athletic’s report, his family owns a home in Clearwater, Florida, the spring training home of the Phillies. While Realmuto is a free agent, the Phils currently do Rafael Marchan And Garrett Stubbs as their top catchers. They need to do something to improve their catching corps. However, the Phils have some other priorities this winter. They also want to re-sign Kyle Schwarber and remake their outfield.
It wouldn’t hurt much for the Red Sox to check in to see if there’s a chance they can pry Realmuto away, as their catching group could be strengthened. Carlos Narvaez had a nice rookie season in 2025, but he is still fairly inexperienced and has regressed as the season has gone on. He hit .241/.306/.419 for a 97 wRC+ for the year, but only .187/.233/.387 for a 64 wRC+ in the second half. Connor Wong seemed to take a step forward in 2024, but only hit .190/.262/.238 in 2025.
Both catchers are still optional, so it’s possible for the Sox to sign Realmuto and bump one to Triple-A for depth. Realmuto’s right-handed bat would fit nicely in a lineup that currently leans left, although Narváez and Wong are also right-handed. It’s also possible that the Sox are attracted to Realmuto as an experienced clubhouse leader for a team that is young and inexperienced.
The Sox will have to balance that effort with other priorities. One big goal for them this winter was to strengthen the rotation and they accomplished that Son Gray from the cardinals earlier today. They will likely look for more pitching and could look to re-sign Alex Bregman.
Grid source predicts the Sox will have a payroll of $177 million and a competitive balance tax figure of $223 million. Last year these figures ended at $207 million and $245 million. That could give them anything from $20 to $3 million to play with if they’re willing to spend the same amount of money in 2026, though it’s possible their 2025 playoff berth will prompt them to bump things up even further.
Their ability to pursue a notable catch upgrade will depend on what they have to spend and how their other goals fare. Even if they can’t pluck Realmuto from Philadelphia, they may turn to some of the other available backstops.
Photo courtesy of Kyle Ross, Imagn Images
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