JT Realmuto will undergo surgery on his right knee Wednesday originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
JT Realmuto, one of the Phillies’ most indispensable players, will undergo meniscectomy surgery on his right knee on Wednesday in Philadelphia.
He was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to June 10), but will obviously miss much more time than that. Phillies terminology was “knee pain.” Realmuto has been dealing with knee pain for about a month.
Mike Trout underwent a partial medial meniscectomy on May 10 and the timeline for MLB players returning from this procedure typically ranges from 4 to 8 weeks. Players return more quickly from this procedure than from a complete meniscus repair. It’s unclear, however, if Realmuto faces the same injury or a similar timeline.
More should be known on Tuesday. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is scheduled to meet with reporters in Boston ahead of a three-game series with the Red Sox.
The Phillies have depth at several positions, but not behind the plate. They called up Rafael Marchan from Triple A and he will be paired at the position with Garrett Stubbs. There is little depth beyond them, and the Phillies may very well have to go out and acquire another catcher.
They are 25 games over .500 and a nine-game lead over the skidding Braves, so they have wiggle room. But losing Realmuto for any period of time is a huge blow. He provides as much overall value as any catcher in baseball with his offensive, defensive, on-base production, game planning and play calling. He is also one of the team’s unquestioned and unspoken leaders.
Despite throwing hundreds more innings than any other player in the majors since the Phillies acquired him, he has spent just 10 days on the injured list since 2019.
Two weeks ago, Nick Castellanos referred to Realmuto as the backbone of the Phillies.
They will be without it for now.
