Phillies re-sign JT Realmuto to 3-year, $45M deal: reports

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Phillies and catcher JT Realmuto have reached an agreement on a 3-year, $45M contract, The Athletic's Ken Rothenthal reports.

Retaining the 34-year-old catcher closely follows the Phillies missing out on free agent infielder Bo Bichette, who signed Friday with the New York Mets.

What we know:

Realmuto is one of the longest tenured Phillies behind Aaron Nola, and has spent just as many seasons in Philadelphia as Bryce Harper. 

The Phillies backstop battled knee injuries last season which limited him to 134 games, hitting .254 with 12 home runs and 52 RBI.

Local perspective:

The Phillies were on the outside looking in amid a flurry of moves on Friday that may have had a lead to – or at least sped up – a reunion with Realmuto.

Kyle Tucker, who was reportedly heavily pursued by the New York Mets, inked a 4-year, $240M deal to join the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets then turned around and signed Bo Bichette to a 3-year, $123M deal, swiping him away from the Phillies, who reportedly had a $200M offer on the table as of Thursday night.

Without a logical pivot for President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski to make, the Phillies appear poised to bring back a similar roster that has stumbled in the postseason each of the last four seasons.