As the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs duke it out thousands of miles away in Japan, the Philadelphia Phillies are in their final week of Spring Training action before Opening Day. While many spots on the Opening Day 26-man roster are essentially locked, the backup catcher position is still wide open.
Rafael Marchan, a former top-five prospect for the Phillies, is vying to earn the roster spot from the incumbent Garrett Stubbs. Stubbs, 31, has been the backup for catcher J.T. Realmuto since joining the Phillies in 2022.
Comparing the Phillies Catchers
Garrett Stubbs’ biggest weakness as a catcher thus far in his career has been his offense. With a career .215 average, Stubbs averaged just over 100 at-bats per season as the backup catcher in Philadelphia. That changed in 2024 as Realmuto struggled with injuries, resulting in Stubbs accruing 164 at-bats while batting .207. That means that, for those additional 60 at-bats, the Phillies had a nearly 60-point deficit from Realmuto’s .266 average.
In other words, the more Stubbs has to be relied on, the more prominent his offensive struggles become. With Realmuto coming off a season plagued by injury, that does not put the Phillies in a good position should Realmuto go down and Stubbs needs to fill in long-term.
Enter Rafael Marchan.
Marchan is a career .279 hitter in only 121 plate appearances. Most recently, in 2024, Marchan batted .294 in a very limited 56 plate appearances. While limited, the signs seem to indicate that Marchan is at the very least moderately better at the plate than Stubbs.
This Spring Training, however, the two have performed nearly identically. They have notched six hits while walking three times and striking out four times in the Spring. The only difference offensively is that Marchan has had two additional at-bats while Stubbs has recorded two doubles to Marchan’s one.
But this is the backup catcher, does offense matter? What matters is how good of a catcher they are. In this case, the offense does matter because both Stubbs and Marchan are solid catchers in their own right. Between Realmuto, Stubbs, and Marchan, the Phillies had three of the top-10 best pop times in 2024 from their catcher core. Marchan might have an edge overall on Stubbs defensively, but it is close.
So Who Is the Backup Catcher To Start the Year?
There are a lot of factors that play into who gets the job this season. Both sides of the ball are predominant factors but not the only ones. Stubbs is a “clubhouse guy” and has in many ways become a part of the DNA of the current Phillies team. It’s unknown if anyone else in the clubhouse even knows how to use the sound system or even make a playlist after all.
But then there is also the fiscal side of baseball. Marchan is out of options. If the Phillies decide to go with Stubbs, Marchan will have to be designated for assignment and go through waivers, likely being picked up by another team. Stubbs, meanwhile, has one option left and can be sent down at any time.
There also lies the factor that Marchan, if he stays on the roster, will remain a Phillie until he reaches free agency in 2029. Realmuto and Stubbs are both free agents at the end of the season. With Realmuto getting up there in age, the Phillies just might be grooming Marchan to take over in the starting catcher capacity should they opt not to re-sign Realmuto.
As of now, it seems like the job might be Marchan’s, but no official word has been said at the time of publication.
Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images
