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Girardi, Phillies ‘flirting’ with having J.T. Realmuto lead off

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J.T. Realmuto had an excellent first season in Philadelphia. (Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire)

The Philadelphia Phillies lineup might have an unconventional look to start the regular season.

In an interview on SportsRadio 94 WIP on Wednesday morning, manager Joe Girardi told host Angelo Cataldi that the Phillies may give catcher J.T. Realmuto a look as the leadoff hitter until outfielder Andrew McCutchen fully recovers from his ACL injury.

Girardi mentioned that he has been doing it in Spring Training with Realmuto in order to get him plenty of at-bats early in games to avoid catching too many innings, and that Realmuto has embraced it: “I’ve done that with him and he said he kind of liked it in Florida when he did it.