Well, some semblance of normal returns on Friday morning. The holidays and hangovers will be over, the kids will have gone back to playing with their old toys instead of the new ones, and the baseball world will wake up – hopefully. The Phillies have a lot to do between now and when their pitchers and catchers (we’ll talk more about these guys) report for Spring Training on February 10.
Cue the Jeopardy music
The first question is this: “When a Phillies pitcher throws the ball toward home plate, who is going to catch it?” The answer is not, “no, Who’s on first.” In the famous Abbott & Costello routine, the catcher’s name was Today. Lately, we have all woken up wondering if today would be the day we find out who the Phillies catcher would be.
J.T. Realmuto is still unsigned and there is no word on his thoughts of an offer the Phillies presented to him three weeks ago. Realmuto’s problem is that there is no word of any lines forming of other teams waiting to sign him. Boston was interested, but they added Wilson Contreras from St. Louis. Danny Jansen, a very viable option for the Phillies to turn to if Realmuto were to leave is off the board after he signed with Texas.
Realmuto is upset because he believes that the Phillies low-balled him the last time they negotiated a contract, so it almost seems like he wants to recoup a little back-pay in this deal. The Phillies are up against the Collective Bargaining Tax (CBT) and don’t want to go any higher than the undisclosed offer they gave J.T. earlier in the offseason. Do we wait for someone to blink or do the Phillies set a deadline to get a deal done or they are turning to something else. And, just what would that something else be?
Victor Caratini is still a free agent and the Phillies sniffed around on a trade for Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman early in the process, but the O’s weren’t very receptive to dealing him. Maybe we hear Phillies PA guy Dan Baker say “Phillies catcher Rafael Marchan.”
Have we got a guy for you?
Nick Castellanos has spent his offseason trying to make himself look more attractive by saying he was open to playing first base. In effect, he was helping the Phillies find some team out there that will take him and even just a little of his contract off of the Phillies hands. Problem is that 29 other teams know that Castellanos is gone and figure if they wait long enough, the Phillies will just release him and they can get him then and pay none of his contract.
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Would the Phillies seriously pay Castellanos $20-million to just go away and get nothing in return by releasing him? It seems like they would. Even if Castellanos and Rob Thomson were to bury their differences, agree to get along, and the sides decided not to part, there is no spot in the lineup for Castellanos since the signing of Adolis Garcia, which means Castellanos would not be in the starting lineup, which is what started the dust-up to begin with.
To paraphrase another old-time comedy duo: “This is another fine mess you’ve gotten us into.”
A home for Bohm
The Phillies have engaged in the Philadelphia winter tradition of discussing whether or not to trade Alec Bohm. Yet another fine mess. Every year this comes up and every year Bohm is playing third base in the Opening Day Phillies lineup. The rumor mill hasn’t churned out much on Bohm lately, so maybe he will be back. However, if Realmuto is not back, the money the team was going to give him and Bohm’s salary for 2026 would be available to put towards signing an Alec Bregman or Bo Bichette to give the Phillies the other big bat they need in the lineup.
Of course, signing someone to a long-term deal would effectively block wunderkind Aidan Miller, who the Phillies envision being their future third baseman.
Are the kids alright?
Justin Crawford and Andrew Painter are written into the Phillies plans for 2026; Crawford’s name in ink, Painter’s in pencil. Will they be ready to play at the major league level and will they produce to a standard that helps the lineup and rotation? No other fan base seems to worry more about whether a young player – or players – are ready to produce. The same people who were clamoring for Crawford to be brought up last summer and the same ones asking why the Phillies would trust making him their center fielder. You can’t have it both ways.
Crawford is ready. Painter should be ready. His command was wonky in 2025, but that is the normal course for a pitcher returning from Tommy John surgery. Odds are that he is ready to go, and let’s hope that he is. After all, the rotation to start the season right now is Aaron Nola (coming off of his own shaky 2025), Jesus Luzardo, Cristopher Sanchez, and… Zack Wheeler won’t be ready for Opening Day, so the Phillies need someone temporarily to keep his spot warm and Ranger Suarez is not coming back. That means spring time will be big for Painter and Taijuan Walker.
Of course, things change a little if Tatsuya Imai decides where – if anywhere – he is going to sign. At least this one has a deadline on it of 5 p.m. on Friday. Stay tuned.
The return of MV3
Another mess. It really feels like the Phillies offseason has been a hot, steaming mess of a dumpster fire. Yes, Bryce Harper had a down season last year and has dealt with injuries, but he still had good numbers. If anyone here figured that he was going to be battling for the MVP in every season of his contract with the Phillies, raise your hand. If there is any player who is motivated, it has to be Harper and a motivated Harper is going to be fun to watch.
Maybe Harper and Kyle Schwarber will be waging a friendly battle to see who hits more home runs in 2026.
Finally, will Orion be a star or a black hole?
It says here that the first time Orion Kerkering takes the mound at Citizens Bank Park, the place erupts much like it did for Trea Turner in 2024. The Phillies rallied around the beleaguered reliever and the fans will, too. Look for him to have a breakout season in the Phillies bullpen and his mental and physical error become a thing of the past before too long.
Other than that, not much going on.
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