JT Realmuto held his first public presser since baseball activities resumed today — and it was, as all things are these days, held via Zoom.
Things began rather awkwardly, as JT responded to the first question of the day with more of a statement than an answer.
He respectfully asked the media to refrain from any questions about contract negotiations between him and the Phillies, stating that talks were still in “preliminary stages,” and he wanted to hone in more on questions about the team, as he is more focused on helping the club win than he is on a big payday.
He later touched on his contract situation briefly, however, reaffirming that he understands the business of baseball, and that there’s no frustration on either side of the table.
Realmuto was then prompted by Matt Breen of the Inquirer to expand upon how he felt about Bryce Harper shouting “Sign him!” during yesterday’s simulated game, and went on to ask how he feels about Bryce wearing Realmuto’s #10 shirsey daily.
JT joked that he hopes Bryce Harper owns a team one day, and continues to believe that Harper is one of the most misunderstood players in the game.
“He certainly doesn’t act like a guy who has $300M coming his way.” Realmuto said, and went on to say that he truly appreciates the love and support he gets from Harper — the two are obviously very close.
Realmuto then said that he hopes to start each of the 60 games this season — bragging that he could probably catch 50-55 games if Joe Girardi would allow him, thus slotting into the DH spot in the other 5-10.
JT also dropped the nugget that Vince Velasquez has developed a cutter during his downtime — which is a rather exciting development.
Finally, when asked how he feels about the organization as a whole, JT said:
“I love this organization... from top to bottom, they’re just good people who care about baseball.”
He loves the Organization. His friends are here. He’s the best catcher in baseball, bar none.
It sounds like all the Phillies need to do is put up the proper offer. As long as they can do that, JT Realmuto should stick around this club for a long time to come.