May 20, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott (5) and shortstop Trea Turner (7) in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Isaiah J. Downing
On Pattison's Tim Kelly and Anthony SanFilippo team up to answer your Phillies questions. Let's get to it!
@JoeMessina16 on X: Have there been any extension talks with J.T. or is the feeling they can only extend one of J.T. or Schwarber and Shwarber is priority 1?
Tim Kelly: You're correct in assessing that between J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber, the latter should be the priority. That doesn't mean you can't ultimately re-sign both, but you do have to be careful not to sign too many players deep into their 30s, and you've already committed to doing that with Bryce Harper and Trea Turner.
I'm not suggesting that bringing back Realmuto won't ultimately be the best option for the Phillies, but this isn't 2020 where the team should wake up sweating late at night about the thought of potentially losing him in free agency.
Realmuto remains elite at throwing out would-be basestealers, and still gets rave reviews from all pitchers who work with him. But he has a .651 OPS and has grounded into 10 doubles plays. He has minus-five defensive runs saved. He's no longer the best catcher in baseball, and maybe isn't in the top 10.
Again, that doesn't mean that the best option for the Phillies won't end up being to bring back Realmuto in free agency. But they should be open to considering other options via free agency or trade. And considering Realmuto will turn 35 next March, I'd be hesitant to guarantee multiple years if he does end up being the top option.
Anthony SanFilippo: At the beginning of the season, if you asked me if the Phillies could only bring one of Schwarber or Realmuto back, who would it be, I'd have picked Realmuto.
Not because I thought that was the right choice, but because I thought the team looked at creating more flexibility by not having to lock in a guy at DH and the fact that their next catching prospect, Eduardo Tait, still hasn't turned 19 years old. So, hanging on to Realmuto, for no other reason than he's a good defensive catcher who gameplans very well with the pitching staff, made a lot of sense.
Now, if you ask me the same question, I would do a complete 180. Funny how a couple of months changes things, right?
That said, there is a world where both players can stay, but that will be incumbent upon Realmuto understanding where he is as a declining player at this point.
If he's willing to take a short-term deal for a team-friendly salary, then he could easily be back and be the bridge to Tait. A lot of people want to compare it to the contract Yadier Molina signed with the St. Louis Cardinals entering his age-35 season — which was for three years and $60 million in 2018.
With inflation that would likely be in the neighborhood of three years and $70 million going into 2026. I'm not sure I'd make that much of an investment.
However, if he thinks he still has value equal to or beyond that contract structure, the Phillies may move on and find a way to bring in another veteran catcher to serve as a tandem with Rafael Marchan until Tait is ready.
@SixersAdam on Bluesky: How much longer do you think Bryson Stott will last in the leadoff spot without producing out of it? If he ends up being moved down, do you think Kyle Schwarber would end up back in that spot, or would it be Trea Turner?
Tim Kelly: It's an interesting question because I think Trea Turner has benefitted from Stott seeing a ton of pitches out of the leadoff spot. Bryce Harper also has been better off for having Kyle Schwarber protecting him.
But you're right — at a certain point, you have to do more than just see pitches to be the hitter that gets the most at-bats on the team. You would think that Stott has to ambush some of these center-cut fastballs early in counts to keep teams honest, even if his goal generally is to see pitches. Stott's on-base percentage of .320 is sixth on the team. He has a 90 OPS+, which is well below the league average of 100.
I've said all along that I believe Schwarber is the best leadoff hitter on the team. The problem is he's also the best cleanup hitter. So for the time being, I think they'll continue to have Stott lead off against righties, and Turner against lefties. But is there an argument at this point for just having Turner be the everyday leadoff hitter? Probably.
Anthony SanFilippo: The one thing Stott has done well out of the leadoff spot is work long counts. And while that's a positive, it's not enough by itself.
In 34 games as a leadoff hitter this season, Stott is slashing .247/.297/.356 for an OPS of .654. That's not good enough. Your leadoff hitter should be getting on base at .350 at a minimum. Because Stott hasn't gotten on base enough, he's scored only 20 runs in those 34 games.
Conversely, Turner has scored 13 runs in the 16 games he's lead off. The difference? Turner has an on-base percentage of .363 when leading off.
Is Turner an ideal leadoff hitter? No. He's better suited for that No. 2 hole. I'll say it until I'm green in the face that the best option to lead off for the Phillies on the current roster is Bryce Harper, but he doesn't like to lead off, so the Phillies won't ask him to do it.
That's a whole different discussion. But, in lieu of that, the best options are either Turner or Schwarber, and considering the season Schwarber is having hitting behind Harper, Turner is the best bet for now.
@Shermaning on X: Assuming a Hoskins reunion is off the table, which righty power bats should we expect the Phils to target?
Tim Kelly: I would very much assume a Rhys Hoskins reunion is off the table. First of all, as the Phillies just found out, the Milwaukee Brewers look like a contender. Secondly, the Phillies have shown no inclination to move Bryce Harper back to the outfield, even if he's said he would be willing in the right situation. If this was the right situation, the Phillies would have done it two years ago.
*rant over*
People are going to be disappointed with the right-handed options. For all the talk about Luis Robert Jr., he's hitting .177.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are an interesting team to watch in the event they fall out of things. Eugenio Suárez has tremendous power, but strikes out a lot and bringing him in as a rental would likely require waving the white flag on Alec Bohm. Perhaps more likely is trading for someone like Randal Grichuk — who has traditionally mashed lefties, even if he isn't necessarily doing so this year — as an upgrade over Weston Wilson.
Anthony SanFilippo: The Phillies shouldn't just look at center fielders or left fielders to find this need. They should be open to really any position to find an upgrade for the lineup and move the chess pieces around as necessary to make it work.
Because limiting yourself to the two outfield spots makes the market quite small.
Now, as Tim said, they're unlikely to move Harper off first base - unless an emergency situation arose, so the one thing they won't look to do is add a true first baseman.
But beyond that, the Phillies should be open to all possibilities.
I'm glad Tim mentioned the Diamondbacks. If they are looking for an outfielder, I wonder if Arizona would part with Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. He's not had a great start to this season, but he's a red-light player. When the games have more meaning, he seems to be better.
But another name I would consider — and this is a little outside the box — but what about Bo Bichette?
I know the Blue Jays are playing well right now and are in the AL Wild Card race, but there's seven weeks until the trade deadline. A lot can happen. If Toronto falls out of it, would it make sense to bring in Bichette, who is having a little bit of a bounce back after a bad 2024?
Yes, he's a shortstop, and Turner plays there now, but you could do either one of two things - you can plug him at short and move Turner to second, moving Stott into a bench role.
Or, you keep Turner at short and ask Bichette to play third — which a lot of evaluators think he may have to do anyway when looking to sign a free agent deal after the season — and you move on from Bohm.
Not saying this is realistic, but it's an example of the kind of thinking the Phillies should take into the deadline, and not just pigeonhole themselves into finding a solution in the spot they have the obvious weakness.
In the latest episode of Phillies Stoplight 🚦, @TimKellySports and @SixersAdam discuss Trea Turner’s defense. pic.twitter.com/Y9pH9SRnMy
@irockPhilly on X: When is the earliest Aidan Miller plays in the big leagues? Does Miller inevitably replace Turner at Short? Odds of Turner shifting to outfield at some point in future years have got to be pretty good?
Tim Kelly: I'm going to say the earliest Aidan Miller plays in the majors is Memorial Day 2026. By all accounts, he's going to be able to stick at shortstop, but it will be interesting to see if the Phillies would be willing to have an uncomfortable conversation with Trea Turner about moving positions if Miller might not even be on the Opening Day roster next season.
What seems like a real possibility is that whether it's at shortstop or third base, Edmundo Sosa holds things down early in 2026 until Miller is ready to come up. I do think he will eventually be the shortstop, but wouldn't rule out him playing some third base initially.
I'm a lot less bullish on the idea of Turner playing in the outfield than others. My inclination would be the move him to second base, where he was pretty solid when the Los Angeles Dodgers asked him to shift there in 2021, when they still had Corey Seager at shortstop.
It would be a hard pass for me on trying Turner in center field. First of all, the Washington Nationals tried to do so nearly a decade ago and it didn't go well. Secondly, I don't like the idea of putting more physical stress on a player whose game is predicated around speed as he approaches his mid-30s. Keeping Turner healthy and in the lineup has to be the goal.
Left field might be the end destination, and there's not a ton of space to patrol at Citizens Bank Park. Still, there are 81 road games, and I wouldn't underestimate how difficult it is to play left field at Truist Park, Coors Field and some of the stadiums with larger outfields.
Anthony SanFilippo: I think Tim's projection is a little early. I think Miller is a guy the Phillies would consider calling up at midseason next year — assuming his development continues.
The kid had a nice month of May, but that followed a brutal month of April. Consistency is the key to advancing through an organization, and they are going to need to see that, and not just at Reading this season, but eventually at Triple-A Lehigh Valley as well.
I think later in 2026 is the earliest we see him with a job on the big league roster, but maybe not even until the Spring of 2027.
And yes, he'll stick at shortstop, but he will also play some third base too - and that's OK.
