Phillies J.T. Realmuto announces plans on retirement decision

The Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the best teams in baseball over the last few seasons, and a large part of that has been J.T. Realmuto. He is in his seventh season with the Phillies.

Realmuto is 34 years old and will be a free agent after the year. He is a three-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger and two-time Gold Glover. He has been one of the premier catchers in baseball over the course of his career. However, he is not getting any younger, and his next contract will have the cloud of retirement looming over it.

Realmuto is still playing well, but his numbers have certainly declined from a year ago. He has noted that his body feels great to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, but Realmuto also spoke on his retirement plans and how he will come to a decision on when to stop playing.

“I do want to play as long as I can,” Realmuto told Rosenthal. “I want to keep my body in the best shape I can. I want to continue to have fun. I’ll know when it’s time to hang ‘em up. If I’m not productive, if I’m not helping the team, I’m not going to try to get to the number 40.”

“If my kids get to an age where they want daddy home… they already want daddy home, obviously,” Realmuto continued. “But if they’re not enjoying it, not enjoying the big-league life anymore, that will probably be a day I hang it up as well. Either my performance or body will tell me first, or my family will.”

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Reamuto kept it real when talking about his retirement plans. He is not going to keep playing just to keep playing, and he is not going to sacrifice the happiness of his family. He has already achieved plenty as a big leaguer.

As a free agent, however, Realmuto’s desire to keep playing will be a determining factor in the length of his next deal. The Phillies will likely try to keep him around, but may not want to give him another long-term deal if he is considering retirement or if they sense a decline.

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