After losing 3-1 on Saturday night, the Philadelphia Phillies dropped to 8-12. They will look to salvage the series on Sunday Night Baseball against the Atlanta Braves, who have yet to lose a series this year.
On Saturday night, the Phillies got a slight injury scare when J.T. Realmuto had to be removed from the game in favor of Rafael Marchan. Per postgame reports, Realmuto had to be removed from the game due to lower back tightness.
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GettyPhiladelphia Phillies’ Catcher JT Realmuto
J.T. Realmuto Dealing with Back Tightness, Status for Sunday Unclear
Per manager Rob Thomson, Realmuto had tweaked his back and left knee in Friday’s game against the Braves. His knee was fine in Sunday’s game, but the back issue flared up on him once again.
Furthering that point, Thomson did also note that he doesn’t think JT Realmuto will need an injured list stint, but his status for Sunday nights series finale is still unclear. One can assume he likely won’t suit up, behind the plate at least, and might be used in a pinch-hitter role, but it wouldn’t be wise to stick him behind the plate for a full game of catching duties if he’s laboring a back injury.
Realmuto is off to a solid start this season after inking a $45 million deal in the offseason. He’s hitting .280 through 16 games with one home run and five runs scored, which is good for an OPS+ of 107. J.T. Realmuto had a below-average offensive season last year for the first time in his career, but it didn’t matter for his contractual discussions with the Phillies, because Dave Dombrowski handed Realmuto a $15 million AAV deal.
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Realmuto’s Durability is His Calling Card
J.T. Realmuto, aside from always being a productive hitter, is known for his durability behind the plate.
MLBTradeRumors.com’s AJ Eustace provided some insight on the value Realmuto brings to his team:
“The veteran catcher has a reputation for durability, especially for the modern game. From 2022-25, Realmuto led the league with 491 games started behind the plate. Cal Raleigh was a distant second with 457 games in that span. Since joining the Phillies in February 2019, Realmuto has only been on the IL three times, with one of those being a one-day stint on the COVID IL in 2021.”
The only issue with a back situation like this is if it lingers for a couple of weeks, it will certainly hurt the Phillies’ lineup in the meantime.
Rafael Marchan just isn’t that productive of a hitter, and it completely changes the dynamic of the Philadelphia lineup if Realmuto is not in it.
But there will likely be more developments in the coming days on this issue, and a timeline for when he will return (if not on Sunday) soon.
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Philadelphia Phillies Get J.T. Realmuto Update During Braves Series