Garrett Stubbs Optioned to AAA, Ending 3 Year Stint as Backup
The writing was on the wall for Garrett Stubbs in Spring Training. After 3 seasons as JT Realmuto’s primary backup, he came into the Spring earmarked to end up in AAA to start the season. Mostly because he still had a minor league option, and Rafael Marchan did not.
Today the Phillies made it official. Early Thursday morning, the news broke that the Phillies optioned Garrett Stubbs to AAA, making way for Marchan to be the backup.
The Issue With Garrett Stubbs
Stubbs has been the Phillies designated vibes guy and team DJ. Seeing him interact with his teammates, it is clear how much he was loved in that Clubhouse.
But apart from being well-liked by his teammates, his presence caused a consistent problem for the Phillies. After putting up passable numbers at the plate in 2022, he was near unplayable in the past two seasons, with batting averages just barely making it over .200. His slash line the past 2 seasons was .206/.287/.271/.558.
Out of the 65 catchers last year with at least 100 PAs, had the 7th-worst SLG. In 164 at-bats, he managed just 6 extra-base hits. He gave the team nothing at the plate and did not exactly make up for it on the defensive side.
He was borderline unplayable. This plays into why JT Realmuto has had to catch so many games since he got here, which might play into why JT Realmuto has seen a decline in his play.
The Phillies need to find a way to get Realmuto more time off this season. He is 34 and it shows in his play. They needed a more competent backup, which Marchan offers them compared to Stubbs. It is a very limited sample size, but Marchan has hit .279/.333/.477/.811 in 40 games.
That is not the production you will get from him as the primary backup over a full season. As pitchers learn more about him, those numbers will likely drop. But it shows you that he offers more at the plate than Stubbs ever could.
With Marchan, you will be far more comfortable letting Realmuto take days off. You will not be putting an automatic out into the lineup every time you do so.
Backup catchers are never going to be great players, but they need to at least be capable baseball players. Stubbs was not. Marchan is. So while the move was more about keeping flexibility and depth, (they would have lost Marchan on waivers if they sent him down instead) it is also what is best for the team.
Stubbs being loved by teammates was great, but this is not the movie Rudy. There can’t be a space on the team for the likable guy who tries really hard. Marchan is the better player period. The Phillies are better off because of this decision, and JT Realmuto’s knees will thank the Phillies for finally going with a real MLB backup catcher.
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Philadelphia Phillies 2025 Preview: Starting Pitchers
5. Aaron Nola
The most underappreciated athlete in Philadelphia sports most appropriately represents the reason the Phillies as a team don’t have as much spring training buzz as in recent seasons.
Expected success is kind of boring. The team’s disappointing playoff exits overshadow the sustained success of a starting pitcher Rob Thomson called “Mr. Consistency” last summer.
Since 2020 Zack Wheeler MLB Rank Aaron Nola MLB Rank Starts 133 10th 141 2nd Innings 829 ⅓ 2nd 850 1st Wins 59 2nd 51 12th Postseason Starts 11 5th 10 7th Postseason Innings 68 ⅔ 2nd 53 ⅔ 7th *Wheeler signed with the Phillies entering the 2020 season. Aaron Nola leads MLB pitchers in starts and innings pitched over the past seven seasons since his breakout in 2018.
His position on top of the leaderboards doesn’t provide all the necessary context. He ranks 46th in ERA among 167 starting pitchers with at least 400 innings pitched during the same span.
He might not be a staff ace. He’s only earned one career MLB All-Star selection, but he’s as reliable as starting pitchers come. Nola ranked 17th among 96 qualified starters in quality start percentage last season, measuring the likelihood a pitcher throws at least six innings and allows three earned runs or less.
Thomson praised his veteran righty after Nola pitched six solid innings in the division clincher against the Chicago Cubs last September.
“I think he’s just got poise and (a) slow heartbeat. He really stays focused. He pitched in a big-time college program. He’s pitched in big games through the minor leagues. Aaron’s the same guy every day… It doesn’t matter whether it’s a spring training game. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a bullpen session, playoff game, World Series game. He’s flat line, the same guy every day.” -Rob Thomson
The chatter will focus on Bryce Harper as the superstar franchise icon who needs to cement his legacy with a World Series ring.
However, Nola’s continued success will have a comparable impact. He’ll turn 32 in June, and his contract runs through 2030.
Nola changed his offseason routine and stopped throwing for over two months because of the wear and tear of his inning count and three consecutive postseason appearances.
Maintaining his ability to take the ball every fifth game and throw that signature knuckle-curveball with two strikes is a bigger factor for the Phillies’ future than most people realize.
Photo by Heather Barry/Getty Images4. Cristopher Sanchez
All reports from Clearwater have praised Cristopher Sanchez. The 28-year-old lefty bulked up during offseason workouts, and he’s added velocity to his sinking fastball entering the first season of a four-year deal he signed in June 2024.
Sanchez has posted a 3.36 ERA over 49 starts the past two seasons since the Phillies deemed him as a full-time option in the rotation.
He showed his high-end potential in two complete games at Citizens Bank Park last season, and he threw five solid innings in his only playoff start in Game 2 of the National League Division Series.
Jayson Stark described Sanchez’s changeup as – maybe – the best in the majors during an appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic. Opponents hit .177 and slugged a miniscule .220 against Sanchez’s best pitch last season.
It was actually more effective in 2023, when Sanchez posted a sensational 43% whiff rate using the changeup.
Cristopher Sanchez’s spot towards the bottom of the rotation underscores the strength of the unit as the biggest reason for optimism entering 2025.
Photo by Heather Barry/Getty Images3. Jesús Luzardo
The Phillies dealt prospects Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd to add the last puzzle piece to their elite rotation.
A lumbar stress reaction kept Jesus Luzardo off the mound after June 16 last season. He spoke confidently after the trade, however, about entering spring training healthy.
“It hindered me in my ability to do these other things. Now being back to being healthy, I think there are certain things that I was doing in ’22 and ’23 – maybe in the way of attacking guys or different little things that I can do in my game-planning attacking these hitters.” -Jesus Luzardo
The 27-year-old lefty dazzled in two perfect innings during his first Grapefruit League start. Two hitters swung right through strike three at his changeup, which has effectively kept hitters off balance in Luzardo’s best seasons.
His second start didn’t go so smoothly. He allowed three home runs on three consecutive pitches while Rob Thomson wore a headset for an in-game interview on ESPN.
Luzardo ranks near the top of the majors the past three seasons in strikeout rate and whiff rate. He ranked eighth among qualified starters with 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings in 2023.
Luzardo’s fastball velocity turned some heads at BayCare Ballpark this spring. He averaged 96.4 miles per hour with his four-seamer in 2023. The velocity dipped to 95.3 in 2024, and the rejuvenated strength is an encouraging indicator for a healthy start to 2025.
Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images2. Zack Wheeler
The Phillies didn’t make the offseason splash that many experts expected from them. However, they had already made a significant financial investment for the 2025 season that impacted their payroll flexibility.
Zack Wheeler will earn $42 million annually the next three seasons on his new contract. Only Juan Soto will collect a higher salary this season.
If Wheeler replicates his performance from the five-year deal he signed with the Phillies entering the 2020 season, the deal will be worth every penny.
Wheeler’s methodical, competitive demeanor intimidated helpless hitters into a .192 batting average last season. He finished third among qualified MLB starters in ERA at 2.57, third in WHIP at 0.96, fourth in innings pitched with 200, and tied for third in strikeouts with 224.
Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler have become the model for durability in an era when MLB starting pitchers take on drastically decreased workloads.
However, should the Phillies view their combined workload as an indicator of their future durability or as a sign of looming wear and tear taking its toll?
Injuries are nearly impossible to predict, but it’s no secret that performance wanes with age. The Phillies have invested serious financial stock in the successful continuation of the heaviest workloads in the majors.
2024 Regular Season Zack Wheeler MLB Rank MLB Average ERA 2.57 3rd 4.07 WHIP 0.96 3rd 1.27 Opponent Batting Average .192 2nd .243 Strikeouts 224 3rd (tied) — Innings Pitched 200 4th — Wins 16 3rd (tied) — FIP 3.13 8th 4.08 Buster Olney of ESPN chose Zack Wheeler as his top starting pitching in a hypothetical Game 7 of the World Series.
It’s easy to rationalize the choice. Wheeler continued his sparkling playoff track record with seven scoreless innings in his only start of the franchise’s forgettable Red October. He’s posted a 2.18 ERA and a WHIP of 0.73 in 70 ⅓ career postseason innings for the Phillies.
Why isn’t he on top of the list then? Zack Wheeler isn’t the most intriguing pitcher on the starting staff because, like his teammate Aaron Nola, Phillies fans should simply expect a star level season in 2025.
Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images1. Ranger Suarez
The Phillies didn’t turn to Ranger Suarez until Game 4 of the NLDS against the New York Mets in 2024. He won’t start on Opening Day, and he probably won’t replicate his All-Star first half of last season.
Why is he the most intriguing of a loaded group of starting pitchers then? The 2025 season is the most impactful crossroad of his topsy-turvy MLB career.
Suarez enters his final season under club control at age 29 without a reliable track record of durability that earns starting pitchers money at the top of the market.
A dominant stint in the Phillies bullpen in 2021 earned him his first firm spot in the rotation late in the season. He spent his only full season in the rotation with relatively short outings and only 155 ⅓ innings in 2022, but an unlikely combination of visa and injury issues pushed his first start of the 2023 season back to May 13.
The Venezuelan lefty pitched as well as any MLB pitcher in the first half of 2024. His run came to a screeching halt in July, and he missed possibly his best chance to prove himself as a full-time starting pitcher who the Phillies can count on at the top of a World Series rotation.
Ranger Suarez in 2024 Starts Innings Pitched ERA WHIP Strikeouts Per 9 Opponent Batting Average 1st Half 16 98 ⅓ 1.83 0.92 9.1 .199 2nd Half 11 52 ⅓ 6.54 1.74 7.9 .315 MLB Season Average — — 4.07 1.27 8.6 .243 Suarez confidently mowed down opposing hitters early in the season at a methodical pace that matched Zack Wheeler’s. His confidence dwindled enough for Ricky Bottalico to question Suarez’s trust in his own mechanics in September.
“As a pitcher, you use your legs all the time… He wasn’t pushing off. He wasn’t driving off of his legs. He was just throwing all upper body. When you do that, it’s (the ball is) going to be flat in the zone. It’s going to be slower.” -Ricky Bottalico
Dombrowski and the Phillies have never prioritized extending Ranger Suarez.
Instead, within the past calendar year, they have extended his younger teammate Cristopher Sanchez, aggressively chased Garrett Crochet, traded for Jesus Luzardo, and put full confidence in Andrew Painter as a key part of the rotation’s future.
Will the cool, calm fan favorite finish the 2025 season in red pinstripes? The MLB Trade Deadline forces difficult decisions, especially for an aggressive executive like Dombrowski in a demanding market in World Series contention.
Dombrowski showed his willingness to move contributors off the roster last July when he traded Seranthony Dominguez and Gregory Soto to remake his bullpen.
“We like Ranger a lot, understandably so. And we like the Ranger the first half of the (2024) season better than the second half. There was a lot that was involved in that from his own perspective, but he’s a good pitcher. We’re all very open minded to having Ranger in the organization for a long time.” -Dave Dombrowski (October 2024)
The Phillies inevitably need Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola to lead them through a 162-game regular season. They’re confident in Sanchez as a reliable option behind their two veteran studs, and Luzardo should make the most impact of any of their offseason additions.
However, none of the other four starters have as much variance or intrigue as Ranger Suarez in 2025.
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
