Previewing The 2025-26 Free Agent Class: Catcher

"Starting Catchers Now in his mid-30s, Realmuto is no longer the all-around superstar he was at his peak. Still, he remains a perfectly solid starting backstop who is as reliable in the lineup as any in baseball. Realmuto led the majors with 132 starts and 1151 1/3 innings behind the plate. He'd also logged the heaviest workload of any catcher in 2022-23, and only a five-week absence for a knee sprain kept him from doing the same in 2024."

"Realmuto is still an exceptional athlete for the position. He's an elite catch-and-throw defender, leading the league with an average pop time of 1.86 seconds on throws to second base. He cut down almost 30% of attempted basestealers at a time when the league average is around 22%. Statcast has increasingly soured on his pitch framing and blocking metrics, but the former might not be quite as valued a skillset with the forthcoming strike zone challenge system."

"The righty-hitting Realmuto put up a .257/.315/.384 slash across 550 trips to the plate. He hit 26 doubles, one triple, and 12 home runs. It's technically his first below-average offensive season since his 2015 rookie year. It's nevertheless solid production, and he took a .266/.321/.403 line into September before slumping in the final month. Realmuto has a good shot at a two-year deal as he enters his age-35 season. He's now in year seven in Philly. Extending that arrangement makes the most sense."

J.T. Realmuto, in his mid-30s, remains a solid starting catcher who led the majors with 132 starts and 1,151 1/3 innings behind the plate. He missed five weeks in 2024 due to a knee sprain but otherwise maintained a heavy workload. Realmuto is an exceptional athlete with an elite catch-and-throw skillset, posting a 1.86-second average pop time and throwing out nearly 30% of attempted basestealers versus a roughly 22% league average. Statcast metrics have declined on his framing and blocking, though framing may be less valued with the incoming strike zone challenge system. Offensively he hit .257/.315/.384 with 12 homers and projects as a candidate for a two-year deal with Philadelphia or other playoff-caliber clubs.

Read at MLB Trade Rumors