J.T. Realmuto is an amazing baseball player. He is a great on-field leader from the catcher position, he is a very good game-caller and an overall defensive stalwart. He does all this in addition to being one of the best-hitting backstops in the league. His .266/.349/.491 2020 line translates to an excellent 125 wRC+. He’s consistently great: he averaged 5.0 fWAR per season from 2017 to 2019. The New York Mets are a natural potential landing spot for him.
And we say natural because the Mets have some money coming off the books (eleven players became free agents today) and will have one of the wealthiest owners in MLB starting from next season. Additionally, they won’t have a starting catcher anymore if they decline Wilson Ramos’ club option.
So, Realmuto fits in nicely with what the Mets are doing. But will he be interested in coming to the Big Apple and playing for the New York Mets?
According to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports, Realmuto would like to remain with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he played (and excelled) the last two seasons, and “is not particularly keen on playing in New York.”
Will he go to the Mets?
However, Salisbury also notes that if New York is “where the record-setting money is, Realmuto will eat heroes instead of hoagies.”
That probably means that if the Mets or Yankees offer him the most money, then he will consider signing with them. It is not uncommon for big free agents to choose wherever they earn the most, which is completely fine and understandable. However, it remains unlikely that the Yankees are the highest bidders, and while the Mets may be in the mix, they will probably face stiff competition.
SNY’s Andy Martino said, after Salisbury’s report, that “there are reasons to doubt” interest in Realmuto from the Mets or Yankees. Sandy Alderson, who will be the team’s president under Cohen, is reportedly not a huge fan of “second generation” free agent contracts.