Dominoes are beginning to fall in Major League Baseball’s offseason but there are still big names lingering in free agency. The most notable name on that list, is the best catcher in baseball, JT Realmuto.

Realmuto is still looking for a team in 2021. The Phillies have reportedly offered Realmuto a nine figure contract after Dombrowski spent some time in Oklahoma with the Realmuto family over the holidays. To date, that offer is the best one that has been reported and the chances that Realmuto ends up in a Phillies uniform in the coming weeks have only improved.

Last Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays landed George Springer on a six-year, $150 million dollar contract. The deal is pending physical, but is set to be the richest in franchise history. The Blue Jays were linked to almost every major free agent this offseason and they finally landed Springer. The Yankees were another team linked to JT Realmuto but instead, re-signed other top free agent DJ LeMahieu. The Angels signed free agent catcher Kurt Suzuki which would surely take them out of the running and the Mets inked a deal early into free agency with catcher James McCann.

It’s safe to say you can take all of the teams listed above off the table for a potential Realmuto landing spot. Really, the Toronto Blue Jays were probably the last real threat to sign Realmuto. There are no other teams in Major League Baseball currently bidding to acquire the best catcher in baseball.

Here are the dark-horse candidates lurking around in the Realmuto talks:

• St Louis Cardinals
• Atlanta Braves
• Texas Rangers

The Atlanta Braves have been said to be “circling” JT Realmuto. Yeah I bet. This rumor makes little-to-no sense. The Braves already have Travis d’Arnaud signed for $8 million in 2021. d’Arnaud slashed .273/.336/.465 over the past two seasons. It wouldn’t make a lick of sense for the Braves to be circling anyone with d’Arnaud on the roster and a Braves team that has been unwilling to spend big on long-term contracts. If anything, I would go as far as saying that the Braves rumors are coming from the Realmuto camp to drive up the price for Realmuto, but I’ll keep my tin foil hat off for the time being.

Realistically, I don’t see any of these teams actually pursuing Realmuto and they are most likely just hanging around for a price drop to make an offer. We know that doesn’t really apply to JT Realmuto given the fact that the Phillies have already increased their original $100 million dollar deal from last Spring to now a reportedly $110 million dollar.

After everything that has happened with the Phillies this offseason, it would be truly remarkable for this franchise to walk away with both JT Realmuto and Didi Gregorius. All things considered, both players are theirs to lose.

Mandatory Credit: Michael Reaves | Getty Images