JT Realmuto is returning to Philadelphia. The star catcher and the Phillies agree on a $ 115.5 million five-year deal, a source told MLB.com on Tuesday. The club did not confirm the agreement.
The reported contract has the highest average annual value (AAV) for a catcher in MLB history at $ 23.1 million, surpassing the $ 23 million AAV in Joe Mauer’s 2010 extension of the contract with the Twins. Realmuto’s agreement also set a new record for a free agent contract for a catcher, which tops Brian McCann’s $ 85 million deal with the Yankees in 2013.
The deal includes a salary of $ 20 million this year, but with $ 10 million of it being deferred in $ 5 million installments in 2026 and ’27, and a salary of $ 23.875 million per year from 2022-25. A $ 1 million relocation payment is included if Realmuto is traded, according to a source.
As one of the best backstops in the game, Realmuto was an excellent commodity for free agencies. In 2019, his first season with the Phillies after a trailer from Miami, he won an award for the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. In ’20, he posted the best offensive figures of his career with a 123 OPS + and 11 home games in 195 recordings, all while controlling the running game as well as almost everyone in the Majors.
Realmuto turned down the $ 18.9 million Phillies qualifying offer and decided to test the open market for the first time in its career. After being drafted by the Marlins in the third round of the 2010 draft, he spent the first five years of his career in Miami before being sent to Philadelphia in a package that included right-hander Sixto Sánchez.
The 29-year-old catcher is a career-high .278 hit with a 111 OPS +, and he is a two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner. From 2017-19, Realmuto’s 15.0 wins were above substitution, per FanGraphs, first place among the catchers and 13th place among all position players.
Todd Zolecki has been covering the Phillies since 2003, and for MLB.com since 2009. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.