The Philadelphia Phillies are in a crisis that could ruin their chances of winning the championship. A key player, who has been with the team for years, is at the center of contract talks that could break up the clubhouse for good. Even though he had a .257 batting average with 12 home runs, 52 RBIs, and eight stolen bases in 134 games this season, which shows a clear decline, the veteran is still popular.

It looks like J.T. Realmuto, a three-time All-Star catcher, is about to leave Philadelphia because the team was slow to agree to his contract terms. Matt Gelb of The Athletic says executives from other teams believe the situation has shifted significantly in Realmuto’s favor.

“Some rival executives expect Realmuto to draw more free-agent interest this winter than Kyle Schwarber,” Gelb writes that Realmuto won’t get a bigger deal than the power-hitting designated hitter. “The sheer number of teams interested in Realmuto could boost his market.” Gelb adds that “the state of catching in the sport is that flimsy,” giving the 34-year-old backstop leverage Philadelphia didn’t anticipate.

Gelb reports that rival executives anticipate Realmuto is generating more free-agent buzz than slugger Kyle Schwarber, despite Schwarber’s 56-home-run season. The veteran catcher seeks a three-year deal similar to Yadier Molina’s 2018 extension, which covered ages 35 through 37.

Gelb noted that this “might be uncomfortable territory for the Phillies, but the veteran catcher could have enough interest to secure a three-year offer from someone.” He also emphasized the unquantifiable value Realmuto brings.

“His relationships with the club’s pitchers matter. It’s not just them feeling comfortable with him behind the plate; it’s about having conviction in almost every pitch Realmuto calls.”

The Phillies’ reluctance to commit fully to Realmuto reveals organizational priorities that have not gone unnoticed. In January 2021, Philadelphia made Realmuto the highest-paid catcher in baseball history by average annual value with a five-year, $115.5 million contract.

Now that the deal is over, the franchise is hesitant to give a player who lived up to that investment the same kind of trust. Philadelphia doesn’t have a plan for who will take over after the current leader, Rafael Marchán, is gone. The franchise is now in a tough spot.

They can either pay too much for an aging veteran or risk losing the defensive anchor who keeps the pitching staff together. If they wait too long, they could lose both their catcher and their chance to win the championship, again!

The Phillies must decide on Alec Bohm as Realmuto’s crisis deepens

The catcher situation is just one part of a bigger problem that could keep the Philadelphia Phillies from winning the championship. After four straight disappointing Octobers, including two first-round exits in a row, Dave Dombrowski has to make decisions that will shape the future of the franchise.

Free agency gets a lot of attention, but a trade could end up being the most important move of the offseason. Alec Bohm is back in trade talks, and they are more urgent than they were last winter.

The third baseman is going to be a free agent after 2026, and his production in 2025 went down a lot. He had a .287 batting average, a .331 on-base percentage, and a .409 slugging percentage, which added up to 1.3 bWAR over 120 games. These numbers are good, but they are a big drop from his All-Star season.

The calculus surrounding Bohm has undergone a fundamental transformation. Teams still want him, but Philadelphia has good reasons to think about trading him now. If they trade Bohm, they will have more money and space on the roster to go after top-tier players at third base.

Dombrowski needs to choose between fixing problems and starting over with a new plan. The decisions made this winter will decide if the Phillies can keep playing competitively or if their window of opportunity will close completely.