The Red Sox seemingly want to get stronger up the middle.
Boston has shown interested in free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto, per The Athletic, which cautioned that the “best guess” is that the veteran re-signs with the Phillies.
Adding Realmuto would be a move that helps Boston on the margins, compared to its offseason goals to add a pitcher who can complement Garrett Crochet in the rotation and a big bat — Pete Alonso would make sense — to offset the possible departure of free agent Alex Bregman.
The Red Sox enjoyed a breakout season from ex-Yankees catcher Carlos Narvaez last season, although his production cooled as the season progressed.
Narvaez, a righty slashed .273/.347/.439 with a .786 OPS in the first half, but dropped to a .187/.233/.387 tune with a .619 OPS after the All-Star break.
Though the Red Sox have veteran Connor Wong to serve as Narvaez’s backup, he slashed a woeful .190/.262/.238 with a .500 OPS in 63 games, registering a -0.6 BWAR.
Realmuto is not the All-Star-caliber player of his younger years, but the 34-year-old ranked seventh among all eligible catchers in FWAR.
The ex-Marlin slashed .257/.315/.384 last season with a .700 OPS, adding 12 homers and 52 RBIs.
Though he had a below-league-average OPS+, Realmuto had a 5.3 defensive rating, per Fangraphs.
However, he rated poorly in catcher framing runs with a minus-nine rating, per Baseball Savant. That metric had him second-to-last among eligible catchers.
While Realmuto would be an upgrade over Wong, the financials and situation may not work.
Realmuto has been a starting catcher his whole career and may not prefer to split time behind the plate quite yet, and it’s hard to envision the Red Sox relegating Narvaez — who ranked ninth in pitch framing — to strict backup duties after he showed promise last year.
Boston also has yet to show it can maintain a top payroll like in its golden years, and splurging on a non-starting catcher may not be the best use of money when a premier pitcher and hitter are on the list.
The Athletic cited the Phillies as potentially Boston’s top competition. Philadelphia, in theory, could offer Realmuto the starting gig and has shown a willingness to invest more in free agency.
The reigning NL East champs are “motivated to keep him,” per the outlet.
One interesting wrinkle is that Realmuto and his family own property in Clearwater, Fla., the home of the Phillies’ spring training complex, according to the outlet.
