JT Realmuto The catcher has officially been activated from the team’s 10-day disabled list and is back in the Phillies lineup. Yunior Marte was also promoted from Triple A, and the catcher Raphael Marchand right handed Michael Mercado He was optioned down to Triple-A.
Realmuto, who had knee surgery on June 12, was expected to take about a month to recover, so he will return a little beyond that time frame (the All-Star break gave him some breathing room), and the first-place Phillies have continued to perform well even with Realmuto out. Trea Turner and Brandon Marsh There are also long-term IL stays, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber A minimum of 10 days of IL absence.
With Realmuto back in the mix, Philadelphia once again plays with all of its first-choice position players, making things even more frightening for opposing pitchers, and Realmuto’s contributions to this potent lineup have been fairly modest, slashing .261/.309/.411 in 223 plate appearances.
While still a pretty good catcher and above average overall (102 wRC+), Realmuto’s 26.9% strikeout rate is on pace for a career-best, while his 5.4% walk rate is his lowest since he was with the Marlins in 2016. Both of these rates are well below league average, but Realmuto still ranks in the 88th percentile for hard hits and continues to hit the ball, including seven home runs so far this season. His defense has been mixed, with Realmuto getting out 29% of his runners, but his blocking and framing are below average. Even if Realmuto is off the pace a bit this season at age 33, he’s still an all-around plus for the Phillies, and he doesn’t even need to be the top contributor in such a loaded lineup.
Marchand appeared in MLB for the first time since 2021 in Realmuto’s absence and posted a .294/.345/.549 batting average in 56 at-bats. Despite these numbers, Marchand was likely optioned to continue receiving regular playing time at Triple-A rather than limited playing time as Realmuto’s backup. Garrett Stubbs He will remain on the active roster in a backup catcher role.
