Former Greensboro Grasshopper catcher J.T. Realmuto signs Five-Year $115.5 million dollar deal with the Philadelphia Phillies

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Phillies, J.T. Realmuto(Greensboro Grasshoppers) agree to five-year, $115.5 million deal

It appears that catcher J.T. Realmuto, one of the top available players of the MLB offseason, isn’t going anywhere.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Todd Zolecki of the league’s official website are reporting that the Philadelphia Phillies are bringing Realmuto back on a five-year contract worth $115.5 million.

Realmuto is a two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner who turns 30 years old shortly before Opening Day and is widely viewed as one of the best catchers in all of baseball. According to ESPN, he leads all players at the position in WAR (10.1), RBIs (189) and stolen bases (16). He is also second in slugging percentage (.489) and OPS (.825) since the start of the 2018 season.

He joined the Phillies via a trade from the Miami Marlins in February 2019 and hit .275 with 25 home runs and 83 RBI in his first season with his new MLB home. During the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, Realmuto hit .266 with 11 homers and 32 RBI across 47 regular-season games.

He declined an $18.9 million, one-year qualifying offer following the season to test free agency but ultimately returned to the City of Brotherly Love. Zolecki added that Realmuto’s deal has the highest average annual value ($23.1 million) for a contract ever signed by a catcher.

3 thoughts on “Former Greensboro Grasshopper catcher J.T. Realmuto signs Five-Year $115.5 million dollar deal with the Philadelphia Phillies

  1. Realmuto was part of the 2011 South Atlantic League championship team with the Hoppers. Other notable future major-leaguers included Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Mark Canha. Realmuto was in his first season as a catcher after being drafted out of high school, where he played shortstop. He played in 96 games, hit .287 with 12 homers, 49 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in Greensboro.

  2. Yes sir, you are on the money Bill and I think he might have been a high school quarterback, and a good one at that…

    It has been a good money week for former Greensboro Grasshoppers, with Realmuto, and LHP Brad Hand(Nationals) getting good money deals this week….

  3. Just a little more background on Jacob/J.T. Realmuto..
    from Wikipedia and he has an interesting back story…

    Realmuto was born in Del City, Oklahoma, and grew up there and in Midwest City, Oklahoma. His parents Margaret and David are both blue-collar workers.

    His father played college baseball at Southwest Missouri State University. His uncle John Smith is Oklahoma State’s wrestling coach, a six-time wrestling world champion, and a two-time Olympic wrestling gold medalist. Three of his other uncles were NCAA wrestling champions.

    Realmuto attended Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, where he was a three-sport standout in baseball (becoming a starter as a freshman), football, and basketball. He played shortstop for the baseball team, quarterback (as well as tight end and safety) for the football team, and power forward for the basketball team.

    In his senior year in 2010, he set a national high school record with 119 runs batted in (RBIs) in 148 at bats in 42 games played for the baseball team; his batting average was .595 and he had 78 runs scored, 28 home runs, and 22 doubles.

    He was named the National Player of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association, was named to its All-American team, and was named to the Louisville Slugger All-American team. He also won state championships in baseball and football.

    Academically, he had a 4.2 weighted grade point average and scored 32 on the ACT. He received the Bob Colon Scholarship, presented by The Oklahoman and the Jim Thorpe Association to the top male high school scholar-athlete in the Oklahoma City area.

    He committed to attend Oklahoma State University on a scholarship to play college baseball for the Oklahoma State Cowboys…

    A Florida Marlins’ scout saw Realmuto playing catcher for Carl Albert High School, a position Realmuto occasionally played when the regular catcher was called on to pitch, and asked if he would be interested in playing catcher professionally. Realmuto agreed.

    The Marlins selected Realmuto in the third round of the 2010 MLB draft; he was the 104th overall pick. He gave up his baseball scholarship to Oklahoma State in favor of signing with the Marlins for a $700,000 signing bonus.

    The Marlins converted Realmuto from shortstop to catcher in their minor league clubs in North Carolina, Jupiter, Jacksonville, and New Orleans. In 2010 as a 19-year-old he played for the GCL Marlins of the Rookie Gulf Coast League. He batted .175 in 40 at bats.

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