As the Phillies reach a possible inflection point in their offseason, they have scheduled a meeting with free-agent infielder Bo Bichette and done extensive work on the various roster ripple effects of signing him, multiple league sources told The Athletic.
Bichette is expected to meet with Phillies officials on a video conference call in the coming days, those sources said. The club’s interest in Bichette is legitimate, and if it results in a deal, it would likely require the team to move on from roster mainstays J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm.
The Phillies are entering what looks to be a competitive market; Bichette has numerous big-market teams interested. Both the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox want to add an infielder — whether it’s Bichette or Alex Bregman. The Los Angeles Dodgers loom as a possible destination for Bichette, viewing him as an option at second base if he is amenable to a lower-term, higher-salary contract structure. The New York Yankees, if they fail to re-sign Cody Bellinger, could emerge as a suitor.
All of those clubs might be more motivated to strike a deal with Bichette than the Phillies, who would have to rearrange their roster to accommodate such an addition. In November and December, team officials believed they would not be involved in Bichette’s market. While they liked the player, they expected him to command a deal beyond their reach, especially since the Phillies had internal free agents to retain.
But as a standoff with Realmuto has lingered, the Phillies began debating different paths. Bichette’s market has not collapsed; the combination of money allocated for Realmuto being unspent and Bichette’s willingness to move off shortstop has opened the door. The Phillies have one of the five highest payrolls in MLB, and while they had a straightforward plan entering this offseason, they were going to keep tabs on the bigger-name free agents.
The Phillies and catcher J.T. Realmuto have been unable to agree on deal to bring him back. (Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)
The New York Post reported last week that the Phillies were interested in Bichette.
Any Bichette deal with the Phillies will be heavily taxed; the Phillies are up against a threshold that triggers a 110 percent luxury tax on every dollar above it. The Phillies would have to clear 2026 money, but know that some payroll relief comes in 2027 with $38 million invested in Nick Castellanos and Taijuan Walker off the books. Tax penalties could reset with a new collective bargaining agreement. (The current CBA expires in December.)
Still, it’s difficult to imagine any scenario where the Phillies sign both Bichette and Realmuto. Making this hypothetical fit is messy but not impossible. If the Phillies were budgeting somewhere around $13 million to $15 million for Realmuto’s annual salary, that alone would not be enough to secure Bichette. They would have to move money while opening an infield spot. The obvious: Bohm, who agreed Thursday to a $10.2 million contract for 2026. The Phillies explored trades for Bohm earlier in the offseason; for now, the alternatives did not outweigh whatever he’d net the club in a trade.
Finding a trade partner willing to absorb all of Bohm’s money might be a challenge, given how unsettled the corner infield landscape is across the sport.
Alec Bohm will make $10.2 million in 2026. He will be eligible for free agency after the season. (Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
On top of that, the Phillies would still need money to throw at a patchwork catching solution. They would not go into 2026 with only Rafael Marchán and Garrett Stubbs. Victor Caratini has yet to sign with a team, and league sources said he’ll delay his decision until there is clarity on Realmuto. Caratini is, at best, a part-time catcher, but he could pair with Marchán or Stubbs. Ryan Jeffers has never started more than 81 games behind the plate, but the Phillies have had interest in the Minnesota Twins’ catcher. Assume that, at the very least, the Phillies need to set aside $6 million to secure Realmuto’s replacement, should they not retain him.
This path would represent a significant change in course, one with ramifications in the clubhouse and in how the Phillies handle their pitchers. Realmuto is often cited as the backbone of everything the Phillies have built with their effective pitching program. Pitchers praise his conviction in calling games. There is a specific familiarity with the veteran that has benefited many of them.
Realmuto will be 35 in March, and the Phillies are aware there will eventually be life without him. His relationship with Zack Wheeler is particularly important; Wheeler prefers throwing to Realmuto above all else. It always made sense to commit to Realmuto for the same term as Wheeler, who is signed through 2027.
That is the path of least resistance, a path the club has often followed under president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. The Phillies have their targets, they tend to land them, and they fill holes without much disruption. This would represent a significant shift in those tactics.
Bichette, who turns 28 in March, is one of the youngest free agents on the market. While the Phillies already have five players with contracts of at least $24.5 million annual average value, Bichette’s age makes another long-term commitment palatable. He is 19 months younger than Bohm and five months younger than infielder Bryson Stott.
The other layer to this: The Phillies would use Bichette at a position that he has never played in his career. Bichette played 32 innings at second base in last year’s World Series and has 30 minor-league games of experience there. But he has never played third base — in the majors or minors — which is where he fits with the Phillies.
They could move Stott to third, which is where he made his big-league debut, but his time there is limited, too. The Phillies like how Stott, one of the better defenders in the league at second base, has adapted to that position.
The possibility of Bichette, though, has the Phillies considering everything.
— Jayson Stark contributed to this report.
