The Philadelphia Phillies are one of the hottest teams in MLB right now. They have won eight of their last 10 games and will open a new series this week against the *also surging* St. Louis Cardinals in a series with NL Wild Card implications.
Philadelphia has cut back catcher JT Realmuto’s playing time lately, and before the series opener against the Cardinals, manager Don Mattingly has made a notable Realmuto decision.
Update: The Phillies won 7-6 on Friday to take the series opener. Realmuto went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI and a walk,
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JT Realmuto Back in Phillies Lineup for Cardinals Series Opener
GettyPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – AUGUST 18: Brooks Raley #30 and J.T. Realmuto #10 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrate a 6-4 win against the Miami Marlins for a 6-4 win at Citizens Bank Park on August 18, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Heather Barry/Getty Images)
JT Realmuto was not in the Phillies batting order on Wednesday against the Miami Marlins.
On Friday, JT Realmuto is batting eighth and is behind the plate. As far as other changes in the Phillies batting order, their lineup looks very similar to Wednesday’s contest.
In fact, the first seven batters are all the same as the Phillies’ last game, with the only changes being Realmuto catching in place of Stubbs and Justin Crawford batting ninth instead of 8th.
Here is the full batting order, per @UnderdogMLB:
Phillies 8/21: “K. Schwarber DH T. Turner SS B. Harper RF L. Arraez 2B A. Bohm 1B B. Stott 3B B. Marsh LF J. Realmuto C J. Crawford CF J. Luzardo SP”
K. Schwarber DH T. Turner SS B. Harper RF L. Arraez 2B A. Bohm 1B B. Stott 3B B. Marsh LF J. Realmuto C J. Crawford CF
J. Luzardo SP
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Looking at JT Realmuto This Season
GettyMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – AUGUST 15: J.T. Realmuto #10 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates his sacrifice fly to score a run against the Minnesota Twins in the second inning at Target Field on August 15, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
JT Realmuto signed a three-year, $45 million deal to stay with the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason.
However, he has taken a step back offensively in his age-35 season.
Across 316 at-bats this season, Realmuto is batting .215 with eight home runs, 40 RBI, and an OPS of .626.
His career OPS is .765.
There have been a couple of injuries for Realmuto, but he had so many consecutive seasons of being an above-average hitter at the catcher position that it’s hard to say it’s all that surprising that Realmuto has slowed down from an offensive position.
Also, given the nature of how physically challenging catching actually is, he has seen some of his playing time reduced in an attempt to keep him fresh.
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