Why Phillies Backup Catcher Question Is More Than A Position Battle
A starting lineup full of potent stars and an accomplished pitching staff leaves very few positions on the 2025 Philadelphia Phillies up for grabs during spring training.
Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchan enter spring training as the likeliest in-house options to earn a roster spot as the backup catcher behind J.T. Realmuto.
Which catcher will win the job? How does the competition in 2025 affect the long-term future of the position within the organization?
A Lighter Workload For J.T. Realmuto?
J.T. Realmuto enters the final season of his current contract in 2025. The Phillies must address their plan at backup catcher this season and their overall organizational depth more seriously than they have in recent years.
Rob Thomson will look to more frequently rest Realmuto, who’ll celebrate his 34th birthday in Clearwater, after the star catcher spent over a month on the injured list last season because of a right knee surgery.
“I think it (time missed due to injury) affected him a lot with his numbers (last season). I do think that the numbers will go back up a little bit. I’m hoping that if I can persuade him or talk to him about having a few more days off earlier in the season, that the numbers even get better.” -Rob Thomson
Philadelphia’s newly-extended manager joked that he’s hesitant to approach the ultra-competitive Realmuto with the idea of a lighter workload.
Realmuto finished with his lowest OPS in six seasons with the Phillies in 2024. His offensive numbers didn’t slip drastically enough to force Dave Dombrowski to consider other starting options entering 2025, however. He still finished sixth in batting average and eighth in OPS among MLB catchers with at least 300 plate appearances.
Despite playing only 99 games last season, Realmuto has still caught more regular-season innings than anyone in the majors since 2022, and his workload has extended into October each season. He also owns a commanding lead in innings caught since the Phillies acquired him in 2019.
Realmuto suffered the knee injury rounding second base in rainy conditions in May, so the missed time in 2024 wasn’t directly related to wear and tear. His above average sprint speed and pop time also indicate relatively healthy knees for an aging catcher.
The Phillies can reasonably expect production above a replacement level catcher this season from him.
Dombrowski has also publicly announced his goal of keeping the team’s window of World Series contention open past the prime years of some contributors on the current roster.
Realmuto’s situation applies to the logic possibly more than any one of his teammates. Will the front office offer him a new contract entering his age 35 season in 2026?
The Phillies will reach a crossroad for the future of the catching position after the 2025 season. The performance behind the plate this season from Realmuto, Marchan, and Stubbs will play a major factor in the front office’s calculations.
Garrett Stubbs vs. Rafael Marchan
Another disappointing playoff exit has maximized the pressure to succeed in Philadelphia. Every decision Dombrowski and the Phillies make will come under the microscope, and the roster has had a shortcoming at backup catcher during a three-year stretch of World Series contention
Dombrowski and Thomson’s stated plan to rest J.T Realmuto invites scrutiny of the minimally-used Stubbs and the often-injured Marchan. Stubbs has kept the job for three seasons largely because of his reputation as an asset to the clubhouse mood.
There’s little question that Marchan brings more offense to the lineup as Phillies backup catcher. His impressive .294/.345/.549 in 17 games in 2024 far outweighed Stubbs’ career averages in six MLB seasons.
| Career Numbers | Games | Batting Average | On-Base Percentage | Slugging Percentage | Home Runs | OPS+ |
| Garrett Stubbs | 192 | .215 | .294 | .311 | 7 | 69 |
| Rafael Marchan | 40 | .279 | .333 | .477 | 5 | 120 |
Marchan would almost certainly be the only switch hitter on the roster if he makes the big club out of spring training. He showed notable pull power last season, especially from the right side of the plate, with seven extra-base hits in his short stretch in the big leagues between June 12 and July 14.
Stubbs caught a new career high 424 innings last season. Dombrowski complimented his defense after the season, but Stubbs threw out only seven base stealers in 37 chances last season. The 18.9% rate falls just below his career norm.
Realmuto has thrown out 32% of runners during his MLB career, and he threw out 15 of 57 runners (26.3%) in 2024. Marchan has thrown out five runners in 17 opportunities (29.4%) during his short MLB career.
Stubbs also let some frustrating balls in the dirt by him during his time behind the plate last season.
Realmuto has reached a level of trust with pitching coach Caleb Cotham and the Phillies staff calling games that any catcher with less experience shouldn’t expect to reach immediately.
While the (soon-to-be) 26-year-old Marchan doesn’t have enough big league experience for the pitching staff to fully trust him yet, the Phillies need a more sustainable long-term option than Stubbs offensively and defensively with Realmuto’s time as a premium MLB catcher nearing its end.
If Marchan sticks at the major league level this season, the organization could reasonably consider him as a full-time option to replace Realmuto after the 2025 season.
The Problem With Rafael Marchan
While Marchan looks like the logical option to replace Stubbs and develop behind Realmuto, the Phillies cannot ignore his injury history in their roster projections.
“We like Marchan a lot. We think he’s a real good catcher, and he’s shown some offensive prowess also. He is out of options for next year. One of the things with Marchan we have to do – it’s been unfortunate. He’s had a lot of injuries, but when he’s played, he’s played very well. So I think we have some people capable of doing that internally (backing up Realmuto), but I can’t tell you that they’ll be for sure given the job.” -Dave Dombrowski
The former top catching prospect missed periods throughout his minor league development with hamstring, hand, and back issues.
Conversations swirled in June about how Marchan outplayed Stubbs during Realmuto’s absence. The Phillies chose Stubbs as their backup catcher for the remainder of a season with World Series hopes, however. They wanted to see if Marchan could handle a full workload and benefit from full-time at-bats in Triple A.
Related Content: What Should Phillies Fans Expect From Andrew Painter in 2025?
When the Phillies needed a short-term catcher call-up in early September, a shoulder injury spoiled the additional opportunity for Marchan. Journeyman Aramis Garcia instead stepped in for three games.
Entering the season with an expectation for Marchan to solely alleviate the wear and tear on J.T. Realmuto would be lofty (to say the least).
The Future of Phillies Catchers
A strong and healthy spring should land Rafael Marchan as the backup catcher for the Phillies on Opening Day in 2025.
Garrett Stubbs has one remaining minor league option, so he could plausibly start the season in Triple A third on the organization’s depth chart.
However, the Phillies are well aware that the seemingly simple scenario holds a higher likelihood of imploding than typical roster expectations given Marchan’s injury history.
Retaining Stubbs despite underwhelming production provides a comfort level with a player who has fit into the clubhouse dynamic in recent seasons. He doesn’t fit with their stated goal of preserving Realmuto for the playoffs in 2025, however, and the Phillies will face a quick reminder of that problem if Marchan hits the injured list and forces Stubbs to the majors.
A thin offseason backup catcher market factored into the decision to bring back Stubbs. The Phillies also acquired a pair of 27-year-old minor leaguers Payton Henry and Paul McIntosh during the offseason.
They appear unlikely to sign a veteran before the regular season starts. 36-year-old Yasmani Grandal and 34-year-old James McCann have legitimate track records, but signing an aging catcher with hopes to solve internal durability issues isn’t the most sound logic.
The organization’s top catching prospect Eduardo Tait is only 18 years old, and he’s never played above Single A.
The Phillies have a top-tier MLB catcher penciled in as their starter. Most teams would kill to trade their catching situations. However, the awkward catching dynamic leaves the possibility of major changes in 2025 and future seasons.
All advanced numbers according to Stat Cast and Baseball Reference
