A ‘fresh’ J.T. Realmuto sees results of work on his swing with a homer to center

CLEARWATER, Fla. — During the Phillies’ several days off during their postseason bye last year, J.T. Realmuto spent a lot of time digging into film of himself.

“Five days we had off, I watched like, probably five hours of video,” Realmuto said.

He paid close attention to his own habits when he had been hitting well in the past. The Phillies catcher had a down year offensively in 2025, with his .700 OPs the lowest since 2015. His 12 homers were just one more than the 2020 season, which had been significantly shortened due to COVID-19.

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But Realmuto is confident that the drop-off in production isn’t due to age as he enters his age-35 season, but rather something he can turn around. During the film sessions, he determined that a big part of his success is timing, staying behind the baseball, and thinking right-center field.

He saw some positive results while focusing on those things during a 4-2 loss to the Yankees on Tuesday. In the third inning, Realmuto turned on a fastball from New York starter Luis Gil and homered to center, his first of the spring. He also punched a single to center field in the fifth.

“He’s starting to use the whole field, and that’s what he needs to do,” said manager Rob Thomson. “When he’s having success, that’s what he does. He uses the entire field, and he’s doing that. He’s had a couple of days off. It’s tough down here to catch in the heat. So he looks fresh.”

Phillies first base prospect Keaton Anthony, who was starting to get some outfield work this spring, broke his toe after fouling a ball off his foot during a game on Monday. Anthony was wearing a walking boot on Tuesday and is likely to get surgery at the end of the week, Thomson said.

Max Lazar is returning from the World Baseball Classic after dealing with “very mild” oblique soreness in his side. Lazar appeared in one game for Israel, pitching two-thirds of a scoreless inning. He will be checked out by the Phillies on Wednesday.

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Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott each finished 1-for-3. Bryan De La Cruz picked up two singles and drove in a run.

Tanner Banks, Jonathan Bowlan, José Alvarado, Jhoan Duran, Zach McCambley, and Lou Trivino each pitched an inning. Banks and Bowlan each allowed solo home runs.

Alvarado and Duran each faced the minimum and struck out two. Duran continued to test out his new splitter, striking out Yankees prospect George Lombard Jr. with the pitch. During the at-bat, Duran threw a 100.2 mph fastball before getting Lombard to whiff on an 86.3 mph split.

Trivino allowed two runs in the sixth inning on a walk, wild pitch, single, and double.

“There’s some bottom to it, and it’s a little bit softer than his other stuff, so it’s a true off-speed pitch. So I think it can be pretty effective,” Thomson said of Duran’s splitter. “And you know, now he’s got some different pitches to go to when he needs to. Curveball, and now he’s got the slider and split, and [fastball] 100 mph. I mean, it’s a pretty good mix.”

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After an off day on Wednesday, the Phillies host the Blue Jays at BayCare Ballpark on Thursday (1:05 p.m., Phillies livestream). Jesús Luzardo, fresh off agreeing to a five-year extension with the Phillies, is set to start.

Orion Kerkering threw a live batting practice session for the first time on Tuesday and is scheduled to do so again on Saturday. … Zack Wheeler threw an up-down bullpen session. “Twenty-one pitches in his first up, and then about 15 the second, and he’s starting to step on it a little bit. So it’s good to see,” Thomson said.