Are the Atlanta Braves really in on J.T. Realmuto?
Or are they trying to force a division rival into exhausting a little more payroll?
This topic was discussed at length on Friday’s Phillies Talk Podcast, which you can find below.
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The Phillies would like to retain Realmuto and reportedly have an offer of more than $100 million on the table. It’s not clear if any other clubs have made an offer to the All-Star catcher. If one has, it hasn’t come forward.
Surely it would benefit Realmuto's negotiating position if another team stepped forward.
Maybe the Braves have.
Maybe they haven’t.
MLB
Why would the Braves step forward?
Well, they have plenty of room under the luxury tax and Realmuto is an outstanding player.
Why wouldn’t the Braves step forward?
Well, they have a good catcher in Travis d’Arnaud and he’s under contract for one more year at a very affordable $8 million. Now, it’s possible that the Braves could trade d’Arnaud and pursue Realmuto, but they still have to be mindful that franchise icon Freddie Freeman will be a free agent after the 2021 season and he’s not going to be cheap.
Also, Marcell Ozuna is still out there on the free-agent market. He led the National League in homers and RBIs as a member of the Braves in 2020. There is still a chance that the DH could be used in the NL in 2021. If that comes to pass, the Braves might be better served adding his big bat rather than addressing a position that at least in the short term is already in good shape.
Right now, it still appears as if the Phillies are the only team with a legit offer on the table for Realmuto. All the rest is noise, part of the soundtrack that goes along with free agency.
Also on this episode of Phillies Talk:
We chatted about the Mets, the National League East and what former Phillie new Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni looks like.
And as we were wrapping up, the sad news of Hank Aaron’s death became public.
Another of the game’s all-time greats gone.
I still remember watching Aaron stroke his 715th career homer to break Babe Ruth’s record on April 8, 1974. I remember that lethal top hand and the way he used to put his batting helmet on top of his head as he reached home plate. Less than a year ago, former Phillie Ricky Bottalico and I visited the site of old Atlanta Fulton County Stadium and stood at the spot where Aaron’s 715th cleared the wall. What a moment. What a player. What a man.
RIP, Hammer.
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