After all, JT Realmuto returns to Philadelphia. The star receiver and the Phillies agree on a five-year, $ 115.5 million deal, a source told MLB.com on Tuesday. The club has not confirmed the deal.
The contract, as reported, has the highest average annual value (AAV) for a receiver in MLB history, at $ 23.1 million, surpassing the $ 23 million AAV of the MLB extension. Joe Mauer’s 2010 contract with the twins. The Realmuto deal also sets a new record for a free agent contract for a catcher, surpassing Brian McCann’s $ 85 million pact with the Yankees in 2013.
The deal includes a $ 20 million salary this year, but with a $ 10 million deferral, to be paid in installments of $ 5 million in 2026 and 27 and a salary of $ 23,875 million annually in 2022 at 25. According to a source, a relocation payment of $ 1 million is included in case Realmuto is negotiated.
As one of the best backstops in the game, Realmuto was a free agency staple. In 2019, his first season with the Phillies after a major commercial success in Miami, he won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award. In ’20 he posted the best offensive numbers of his career with 123 OPS + and 11 homers in 195 plate appearances, controlling the running game and almost any of the Majors.
Realmuto turned down an offer of $ 18.9 million from the Phillies, opting to try the open market for the first time in his career. After being signed 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 Sanchez.
The 29-year-old receiver is a 278-career batsman with 111 OPS +, and has twice won the All Star and twice the Silver Slugger. Since 2017-19, the 15.0 win over Realmuto’s substitution, by FanGraphs, ranked first among the captors and 13th among all players in the position.
Todd Zolecki has covered the Phillies since 2003 and for MLB.com since 2009. Follow him Twitter and Facebook.