X-rays were negative JT Realmutoleft wrist after the catcher was hit by Yoshinobu Yamamoto fastball in the third inning of today’s 9-1 Phillies loss to the Dodgers. Realmuto stayed in the game and returned to the plate in the bottom of the third, but was replaced Rafael Marchan before the fourth floor.
After the game, Phils manager Don Mattingly told MLB.com’s Paul Casella and other reporters that Realmuto “obviously it hurt, I couldn’t really squeeze, I couldn’t swing and I actually had a little bit of a grip problem, too. So, painful enough to get him out of there.” Despite this long list of problems, Mattingly felt that Realmuto “it will be fine” given the x-ray results.
The Phillies don’t play on Monday, so Realmuto has an extra day to adjust before the club begins a six-game homestand on Tuesday against the Padres. It wouldn’t be surprising if Realmuto also sat out Tuesday due to any lingering soreness, and the presence of both Marchan and Garrett Stubbs in the active roster gives the Phillies some flexibility in giving Realmuto more rest without leaving the club short-handed at the catcher spot.
Realmuto missed 10 days earlier this season with a strained back, and the veteran right-hander is one of several Philadelphia hitters who have underperformed at the plate. After signing a new three-year, $45MM free agent deal with the Phillies during the offseason, Realmuto stumbled out of the gates with a .220/.296/299 slash line and two home runs over 142 plate appearances.
With long-term injury concerns, Phillies GM Preston Mattingly had no new news on the infield prospect’s status. Aidan Millerwho has been sidelined all season due to persistent back pain. “We depend on medicine. [He’s] he is just making his plan to fix the situation at this time. It’s not baseball jobs, but as we’ve seen over the years, that can change very quickly,” Mattingly told Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic and other reporters.
Miller dealt with back problems in the second half of the 2025 season, and he pitched in discomfort for a two-month period that saw the infielder get promoted to Triple-A for the first time. Miller still hit .264/.392/.433 over 526 combined PA between the Double-A and Triple-A levels, but had to finish the year on the Triple-A injured list after just eight games with Lehigh Valley.
Back pain resurfaced in Spring Training, halting Miller’s fourth season. He was able to play catch and take grounders, but that was the extent of his baseball career for the better part of three months.
Mattingly feels that Miller will be able to play before the 2026 campaign ends, though the fact that this is now a question speaks to the uncertainty surrounding Miller’s status. The team appears to be working more cautiously because of the ongoing nature of this back problem, and how the Phillies “I want him to go well not only this year, but his whole career,” as director of player development Luke Murton told Varnes.
Miller entered 2026 as the consensus top prospect in baseball, with The Athletic’s Keith Law and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel each ranking the outfielder in the top 10 in their preseason rankings. It seemed only a matter of time before Miller made his Major League debut, with the career shortstop seen as a potential replacement. Alec Bohm on third base or Bryson Stott on second base we are given how Trea Turner has the shortstop position covered. This extended injury absence has challenged all of these programs, and Miller will likely have to wait until 2027 to get his first taste of the majors.
