J.T. Realmuto expects Gabe Kapler to return ‘as of now’
Kapler is under contract for next season, but the team has not yet confirmed that he will return. Perhaps voices like Realmuto, who emerged this season as a clubhouse leader, could help Kapler’s case.
It will only be two or three more weeks, J.T. Realmuto said, until his knee is fully recovered. The catcher underwent minor surgery Friday and he’ll have plenty of time to be ready for spring training.
But does he expect Gabe Kapler to be waiting for him in Clearwater, Fla.?
“As of now, I expect to see him back here,” Realmuto said Sunday after the season finale. “We feel like he’s done a great job for us. He gets the guys to play hard. We all love playing for him. He’s been our manager all year and nobody had anything to say about it. We’ve obviously had a rough last couple of weeks and fell out of contention. For me, Gabe’s our manager. He’s a guy that this clubhouse really respects.”
The Phillies will decide Kapler’s fate for 2020 this week. He is under contract for next season, but the team has not yet confirmed that he will return. Perhaps voices like Realmuto’s -- he emerged this season as a clubhouse leader -- could help Kapler’s case. Bryce Harper, who sits next to Realmuto in the clubhouse, echoed his sentiment.
"It hasn’t been his fault,” Harper said. “He’s had some tough decisions he had to make, bullpen-wise, lineup-wise; not having your leadoff guy; not having your setup guy; things like that.
"A lot of guys have been thrown into the fire this year from double A and triple A, it’s just how the season goes. It’s part of it. We’re going to build on that next year, hopefully. I love our staff. I enjoy our staff, I enjoy playing for our staff. They’ve made me better each day and I appreciate that.”
The Phillies, under Kapler, failed twice to finish with a winning record and faded down the stretch in both of his years in the dugout.
General manager Matt Klentak said last week in Atlanta that Kapler was doing a fine job, but he wanted to wait to talk about 2020 until 2019 was over. The season ended Sunday. It’s time to talk about 2020.
“Whenever they ask. Whatever it is. I’ll be there, no matter what,” Harper said about talking to management. “Being here for a long time, these are decisions that are going to absolutely need to be talked about with myself, I would think. So whoever calls or asks, I’ll be there.”
Extra bases
The Phillies hit 215 homers this season, which was the third most in franchise history. ... Brad Miller became the first player in Phillies history with three multi-homer games in the span of nine games, ... The attendance this season at Citizens Bank Park was 2,727,421. It was the highest total since 2013.