JT Realmuto avoids serious injury after taking a foul ball off his right hand

The Phillies have been stumbling their way through the past week, but nothing matters more right now than making sure the roster survives September in one piece.

Tuesday night against the Marlins almost turned into a nightmare when JT Realmuto took a foul ball straight off his right hand in the ninth inning.

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For a moment, it looked like disaster. JT Realmuto was shaking out his hand, trainers rushed out, and Phillies fans everywhere were thinking the worst but luckily, X-rays came back negative.

Official word: JT Realmuto suffered a finger contusion. Day to day.

👍 X-Rays negative on Phillies catcher JT Realmuto per Phillies broadcast pic.twitter.com/IdSXTGPl8a

— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) September 24, 2025

JT Realmuto’s basically made of steel.

This man has taken two foul balls to the groin this season — the groin — and still stayed in games. He’s caught more innings than anyone in baseball since 2019 by a mile, over 6,600 of them. That’s not just durability; that’s lunacy.

Rob Thomson knows what’s up. He pulled Cristopher Sánchez after seven scoreless on Tuesday, even though Sánchez had only thrown 91 pitches, because the bye is basically in the bag and the Phillies need fresh arms for October.

The same logic should apply here. JT Realmuto has proven he’ll fight through damn near anything, but the team needs to back off him this week and let Rafael Marchan handle some games.

The Phillies’ magic number to clinch the first-round bye is one. One. Once that’s done, the only thing that matters is walking into Citizens Bank Park on October 4th healthy and ready to go. JT Realmuto’s close call was a reminder that this team likely cannot survive without him.

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