At the outset of the offseason, there was some thought that if the Philadelphia Phillies determined that they didn’t believe re-signing J.T. Realmuto was likely, they could potentially pivot to another top-tier free agent, like George Springer or Trevor Bauer.
Increasingly, such a reality seems unlikely.
Never mind that both Springer and Bauer could sign before Realmuto ultimately makes his decision, Jeff Passan of ESPN wrote Monday that “the Phillies have suggested they do not have significant money to spend, according to sources — unless they re-sign Realmuto.