Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto predicted to ditch Philadelphia for deal with Padres originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Philadelphia Phillies seem to be prioritizing Kyle Schwarber in free agency, and that isn’t the wrong idea.

However, it’s also important to remember that the Phillies have some other tough decisions to make, and one of them is with veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto.

On the surface, Realmuto is definitely getting older and isn’t what he once was, but he’s still a valuable option behind the plate due to what he can bring defensively.

As the Phillies look to figure things out on that side, some don’t believe that he’ll return to Philadelphia, including Matt Johnson of Sportsnaut, who recently predicted that he’d take a deal with the San Diego Padres.

“The San Diego Padres have been in the market for a catcher for some time now. There aren’t any long-term solutions available this winter, but J.T. Realmuto is a viable short-term fix for the club. He’s nowhere near the hitter he used to be, but a .736 OPS over the last three seasons would at least represent an upgrade for the Padres’ lineup. Plus, San Diego gets a veteran backstop who would help out the pitching staff,” he wrote.

Is Realmuto a lock to be back in Philadelphia?

It’ll be interesting to see the Padres’ plan this year as well, as some have suggested the team might decide to go in a different direction and cut costs. If that’s the case, adding a veteran like Realmuto wouldn’t make much sense.

Regardless, this goes to show that it isn’t a guarantee that Realmuto will be back in Philadelphia, something the front office will have to plan for accordingly.