The Phillies looked like the clear front-runners to land Bo Bichette for a while. But just as the Dodgers landed Kyle Tucker, it seems like the Blue Jays might pivot toward re-signing Bichette instead. Even so, the Phillies didn’t back off. They kept pushing hard, and that became obvious when details of their seven-year, $200 million offer went public.

In the end, though, that big offer still wasn’t enough to land the two-time All-Star shortstop. Still, once Bichette was officially off the table, the Phillies wasted no time moving to their backup plan, signing J.T. Realmuto instead.

But if you’re wondering whether Phillies fans are happy right now, the answer isn’t a universal yes. In fact, Radio 97.5 The Fanatic host John Kincade has made it clear he’s far from impressed.

“Dave Dombrowski Fooled Us Again,” Radio 97.5 quoted Kincade. “Well, stupid money is spending 45 million dollars on JT Realmuto. It’s a stupid contract, so we’ve reunited the Golden Girls. This team has not gotten any better,” he further added.

Well, just hours after Bichette ended up signing with the Mets, the Phillies quickly pivoted and re-signed Realmuto to a three-year, $45 million deal.

The team had cash to use, and it had to be spent somewhere if they wanted to avoid coming out of the offseason in worse shape than they started.

Realmuto’s deal marked the second major move of the winter for Philly, following Kyle Schwarber. And bringing back two popular veterans who’ve been central to the team’s recent run definitely matters.

But the bigger issue is that the roster hasn’t actually improved compared to last season.

And this is where Kincade really takes issue.

He’s been blunt about calling the Realmuto contract a stupid one. He believes the front office, led by Dombrowski, essentially fooled the fan base. In Kincade’s view, the Phillies hurt themselves by publicly signaling just how desperate they were to land Bichette. This only made things easier for the Mets to swoop in.

As for Realmuto, Kincade points to the numbers.

Once a near lock for 20 homers a season, the catcher has hit just 26 total over the past two years. So, as per Kincade, this deal is another example of a front office that simply doesn’t know how to spend its money effectively.

What went wrong for the Phillies?

Well, Realmuto isn’t a bad contingency option replacing Bichette, but the problem is that the backup plan can’t just stop at Realmuto. It has to be Realmuto plus something else. And the Phillies clearly still have money to spend.

After all, they were prepared to pay Bichette around $30 million per year and are now only on the hook for about $15 million annually with Realmuto.

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Here, the Phillies ideally would have gone for Cody Bellinger.

Notably, both Kyle Tucker and Bichette signed shorter-term deals at high annual values. So, it feels more and more likely that Bellinger could be headed for a similar type of contract.

But if they were serious about making up for missing on Bichette, we would’ve expected them to immediately pop up as a strong suitor for Bellinger. So far, that hasn’t really happened.

There’s still time, sure, but the silence is noticeable. Adding a player like Bellinger alongside Realmuto could at least help soften the blow of losing out on Bichette.

The big question now is whether that’s a move the Phillies are actually willing to make, or if it’s just wishful thinking.