Could Realmuto give LF a shot? 'I'm willing to try anything'

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- J.T. Realmuto has a catcher’s mitt, a first baseman’s mitt and an infielder’s glove.

He doesn’t have an outfielder’s glove. He’s never played there.

Maybe he finds one this spring. Maybe he doesn’t. It’s early. But Phillies manager Rob Thomson and Realmuto have talked about creative ways to manage Realmuto’s workload to keep him healthy and effective throughout the final year of a five-year, $115.5 million contract.

One of those ideas has him shagging fly balls in left field.

“If he wants me to go out there and stand on my head, I’ll try to do that,” Realmuto said Friday morning at BayCare Ballpark.

It must be said that teams have ideas like this every spring to create roster and lineup flexibility. Much of the time, they go nowhere.

Maybe this one goes nowhere, too.

But the idea behind it makes sense: the better Realmuto feels, the better he plays, the more he helps the Phillies win.

Certainly, the better he plays, the better contract he gets in free agency.

“I want to win,” Realmuto said. “At the end of the day, if the Phillies win and we have a good season, the contract stuff is going to take care of itself.”

Realmuto had surgery on his right knee last June, limiting him to 99 games. He batted .266 with 14 home runs, 47 RBIs and a .751 OPS. It was his lowest OPS since his rookie season with Miami (.696) in 2015. He also went hitless in 11 at-bats in the NLDS.

He said the knee bothered him most while running the bases, but the Phillies still like the idea of monitoring his workload behind the plate.

How it happens remains to be seen. Realmuto caught 133 games in 2019, 36 in '20 (60-game season), 118 in '21, 133 in '22 and 133 in '23. Plus, he caught all 34 postseason games the past three seasons.

Maybe he catches around 120 games this year. The Phillies could keep him in the lineup by having him DH. He could start a couple games at first base, which he has played 51 times in his career.

“I don’t have a specific number I want to catch,” Realmuto said. “I don’t think there’s a perfect answer. But where I stand right now, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to catch that many and kind of do what I’ve been able to do in the past. My body feels as good right now as it ever has.”

And then there is left field.

Could it really happen?

“There’s nothing set in stone,” Thomson said. “It’s just an idea. … When we were having the discussion of trying to manage his workload as best we can, and at the same time having respect for the fact that this is a contract year for him … we’re very left-handed [in the lineup]. We want as many right-handers in the lineup as we can. I said, ‘You ever think about playing the outfield?’ He said, ‘Well, I think I move around pretty good. I’m willing to try anything.’”

“I’m sure I’ll shag some balls at some point,” Realmuto said, smiling. “Like he said, it was just an idea. But at the end of the day … whatever gives us the best chance to win, I’ll give it a shot.”

And Realmuto wants to win. He knows this core cannot play together forever. Players are getting older. Teammates like Kyle Schwarber and Ranger Suárez will be free agents following the season, too.

“We’re all aware of Father Time,” Realmuto said. “We know that we don’t have unlimited time to get the job done. So every year that passes -- obviously we want to win the World Series -- the longer it takes, the less chance we have to get it done. There’s certainly a little bit of urgency to make that happen. We all get along well. We like each other. So we’d rather win together.

“I’m certainly open to [contract extension] conversations, sure. But for me, it’s about focusing on coming here, getting ready to play a season and winning a World Series. We’ll see where that leads.”