As the Phillies enter the 2025 season, it is no secret that they have one of the best catchers in baseball leading the way at the backstop.
J.T. Realmuto will no doubt lead the charge at the position for the Phillies, but he will certainly not be catching all 162 games. As pitchers and catchers begin working out and preparing for the season, let’s round up who the Phillies have joining them in camp this year.
Still the Best Catcher in the Organization
The toll of several years in the trenches and Father Time are beginning to catch up with Phillies’ catcher J.T. Realmuto. Though Realmuto remains one of the best catchers in Major League Baseball, the signs are there that Realmuto’s days behind the plate just might be numbered. As far as the Phillies are concerned, Realmuto still has one year left on his five-year, $115 million contract, and he is still the commander of this Phillies’ pitching staff.
Still owning one of the most fearsome arms behind home plate, Realmuto continues to strike fear into the eyes of baserunners across the league with the best average pop time to second base in the league. His .266 average and .751 OPS at the plate are still very serviceable in this Phillies’ lineup, and he will likely find himself in the middle of the batting order often in 2025.
The main area of concern for Realmuto lies in his knees. Realmuto had a torn right meniscus that took him out for nearly two months in 2024. Given his position, fully healthy knees are vital to Realmuto’s defensive value to the Phillies. If the issue flares back up in his knees, Realmuto could find himself on the injured list for another long stretch in 2025. Even should Realmuto avoid the IL, it might just be wise for the Phillies to start managing the amount of innings Realmuto is putting on those knees, placing a heightened sense of importance on the identity of his backup.
Who Will Backup Realmuto?
The first obvious choice to back up Realmuto is Garrett Stubbs. Stubbs has backed up Realmuto since 2022 and has the 10th-best pop time in the league as a catcher. Throw that in with his off-the-field impact as a clubhouse guy, and it makes complete sense to keep Stubbs around. So long as Realmuto stays healthy and Stubbs’ time on the field is limited, he can continue to fill in as needed and continue providing his value as the “Chief Vibes Officer” of the Phillies’ clubhouse.
Should Realmuto get injured, however, and begin taking fewer innings behind home plate, Stubbs will need to improve from his 2024 output at the plate. Last season, Stubbs hit a paltry .207 and .558 OPS at the plate. If he were in any other position than backup catcher, that lack of offensive production would find him without a job very quickly on most teams across Major League Baseball.
Interestingly enough, Stubbs’ contract with the Phillies is split. So long as he remains on the Big League roster, he will earn $925,000. Should he be sent down to the minor leagues, he will earn $450,000. So, the Phillies have set him up to be competitive this spring training, as he will need to compete against Rafael Marchan for the backup catcher position.
Once lauded as a top prospect by the Phillies, Marchan has largely been put on the back burner the last few years by the Phillies since acquiring Stubbs. Marchan, however, is a strong defensive catcher and clocked in an impressive .294 average and .894 OPS over 17 games played in 2024 at the Major League level. While Stubbs was 10th in pop time in 2024, Marchan out-popped Stubbs with the fourth-best pop time.
The only thing Marchan lacks, however, is calling games at the big-league level. Marchan has had very little time working with the Phillies’ big league staff, while Stubbs has been a consistent presence around the Phillies’ pitching core for years. If Marchan can prove he can build a rapport with the Phillies’ pitchers, he just might find himself as the Opening Day backup catcher.
Rounding Out Camp and Looking to the Minors
The Phillies also invited four additional catchers to spring training: Josh Breaux, Payton Henry, Paul McIntosh, and Caleb Ricketts. Ricketts is the most interesting name on that list, as he is the No. 22 prospect in the Phillies‘ organization per MLB.com. In 2024, Ricketts spent the entire season in AA Reading, owning a .994 fielding percentage and a .219 batting average over 75 games.
Ahead of Ricketts on the prospect list is Eduardo Tait. Tait, the fourth-best prospect in the Phillies’ system, is 18 years old and reached A Clearwater in 2024. Having already received comparisons to Carlos Ruiz, Tait just might be the eventual replacement for Realmuto. Only time will tell, however, as the young catcher was not invited to join the Major League camp and likely has two or three years of development to come.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
