Phillies manager will push $115 million veteran to take diminished role

The Philadelphia Phillies have to make some changes.

In a World-Series-or-bust season that saw them hold the best record in Major League Baseball for much of the year, they were eliminated from contention after winning just a single playoff game.

And with numerous highly-paid veterans on the roster, it’s clear that their championship window is closing. Next season might be their last legitimate shot to win a championship with the current core of stars.

Some of those stars will have to be flexible going forward, as this past season proved to be a failure. For instance, manager Rob Thomson is planning to push veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto to play in fewer games.

“Both president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and manager Rob Thomson suggested in their year-end press conferences Tuesday that they believe J.T. Realmuto could benefit from getting rest a little more frequently moving forward,” Tim Kelly reported for On Pattison. “What is clear is that Realmuto — who is entering a contract year — probably needs to play less in 2025.”

At age 33, Realmuto is an 11-year big-league veteran who has been one of the game’s best catchers for much of his career. Since signing a five-year, $115.5 million contract with the Phillies in 2021, he’s been an All-Star three times, a Silver Slugger twice and a Gold Glover once.

But in 2024, he slashed just .266/.322/.429 during the regular season and logged zero hits and three walks in 11 playoff at-bats. Catching fewer games might help his offensive production throughout the season and it might keep him fresher for a potential playoff run in 2025.

But Thomson might have a challenging time convincing Realmuto to take a lesser role, and some nudging could be in order.

“He’s a tough guy,” Thomson said, per Kelly. “He’s a guy like a lot of our guys, they want to play every day. I’ll have to do some convincing, I guess.”

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