PHILADELPHIA — With less than a week left in the regular season, the Phillies’ main focus is on getting to the postseason as healthy as possible.
Already without starting shortstop Trea Turner — whom they hope to have back this weekend — the Phils are breathing a sigh of relief when it comes to J.T. Realmuto. The catcher departed Tuesday night’s 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park with a right index finger contusion, but the team said X-rays taken during the game were negative.
With the Phils holding a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth, Marlins designated hitter Heriberto Hernández fouled a pitch off Realmuto’s right hand. The catcher immediately began shaking out his hand and looking at it before being checked on by team trainer Joe Rauch and manager Rob Thomson.
Realmuto made a few warmup throws to third baseman Alec Bohm before staying in the game. Two pitches later, Hernández hit a game-tying homer off Phillies closer Jhoan Duran to extend the contest.
Set to lead off in the bottom of the ninth, Realmuto was instead pinch-hit for by backup catcher Rafael Marchán after Realmuto was unable to properly grip a bat.
“That was quite a blow he took to his finger,” Thomson said. “But X-rays were negative, and we’ll check him out tomorrow.”
Though Realmuto has had an up-and-down season offensively, he remains one of the most important pieces for a team with World Series aspirations.
Realmuto is the unquestioned director of arguably the best starting rotation in Major League Baseball. He leads all catchers in pop time behind the plate and has thrown out a National League-leading 28 attempted basestealers. He’s hitting .280 since the start of June following a slow start to the season. (Only the injured Turner has a higher average during that span among qualified Phillies.)
“He’s huge,” Thomson said of Realmuto’s impact. “He runs the club on the field, and he directs the pitchers as good as anybody.”
Of course, Realmuto has proven to be remarkably durable throughout his career — and this season has been no exception.
He left a June 4 game in Toronto after taking a foul ball directly to the groin. He missed only one game before returning two days later. On Sept. 1 in Milwaukee, Realmuto again took a foul ball to the same area and immediately collapsed to the field — but somehow stayed in the game after being checked on by the training staff.
Overall, Realmuto has caught a Major League-leading 1,123 1/3 innings this season. Since joining the Phillies in 2019, his 6,671 2/3 innings are more than 1,000 ahead of any other catcher in the Majors.
The Phillies (92-65) could back off Realmuto a bit over the final five games — but they still have unfinished business. Despite the loss, Philadelphia’s magic number to secure the all-important first-round bye over the Dodgers (88-69) dropped to one with L.A.’s 5-4 loss to the D-backs.
“We still have to get the bye,” Thomson said. “That’s what we’re shooting for right now.”
That said, the Phils will certainly find ways to strike a balance between solidifying that bye and keeping — or getting — everyone healthy. Take, for example, the approach Thomson used Tuesday night with Cristopher Sánchez.
The left-hander, who recorded his 200th strikeout of the season to end the second inning, cruised through seven scoreless innings on just 91 pitches. Thomson, though, elected not to push Sánchez for an eighth inning given that he’s already thrown a career-high 196 1/3 innings this season.
Sánchez will likely make his final start of the regular season in Sunday’s finale against the Twins, unless the Phillies have yet to secure the bye at that point. In that case, they’ll hold him back to start a potential Game 1 of an NL Wild Card Series next Tuesday.
The Phillies are obviously hoping it doesn’t come to that. Regardless, the close call with Realmuto was a stark reminder that the top priority is getting everyone to the postseason as healthy as possible.
“He’s super important to us,” Sánchez said. “He’s one of the best catchers in the game. We’re basically nothing without him. So he’s just a key player and a key piece for all of us.”
