As the offseason revs up, the Philadelphia Phillies are pondering their backup catcher situation for next season. They want to reduce starting catcher J.T. Realmuto's playing time but have to be concerned about the backups they have on the roster.
Can Garrett Stubbs be trusted to produce in a larger role? Can Rafael Marchan be trusted to stay healthy? That's the dilemma the front office and manager Rob Thomson face. There are options on the free agent market, like former Atlanta Braves veteran Travis d'Arnaud, but it's hard to say which path the Phillies will take in 2025.
The Phillies do have an exciting catching prospect in the farm system. While Eduardo Tait won't be able to help next year, we recently got a peek behind the curtain and a glimpse of the future at the backstop position when former Phillies assistant general manager of player development and new general manager Preston Mattingly joined The Phillies Talk podcast.
Phillies' catcher of the future Eduardo Tait receives high praise from new GM
Among the many topics Mattingly touched on during his appearance, he gave a glowing review of the 18-year-old Tait that should have fans excited for the future. Tait, the Phillies No. 5 prospect by MLB Pipeline's rankings, spent 2024 between Rookie ball and Single-A.
“This kid is extremely intelligent. He knows what he needs to work on and get better at," Mattingly said. "He's hungry to learn and do those things and I think we've seen, even being the 17-year-old kid that he is, he's taken big steps forward on the receiving side this year. We think he's going to stay behind the plate, and if he can stay behind the plate it's a hit-power combo, a guy that's going to be a force in the middle of the lineup.”
Those are heady words for such a young player who just finished his first season in professional ball Stateside. The Phillies challenged him with a full season, beginning with almost three months in the Florida Complex League. The left-handed hitter had no problems at that level, hitting .321 with an .877 OPS, six home runs, 13 doubles and 49 RBI in 51 games.
“As a 17-year-old, he essentially played the full season … but we thought he could handle it, just the at-bat quality. And strength is not an issue. Usually with young kids, strength can be a little bit of an issue. With him it's not and he's got a chance to be special.”
Tait, who signed out of Panama in 2023, was named the organization's Minor League Player of the Month for July. He showed his strength after a late-July promotion to the Single-A Clearwater Threshers. After a slow start, hitting just .218 in his first 16 games, he quickly figured out the new level. Over his final 12 games of the season, he hit .327 with an .828 OPS. Overall, the talented catcher hit five home runs and drove in 24 runs in his 28 games with the Threshers.
Despite the exciting production, Mattingly pointed out that Tait still has some work to do on his approach at the plate — he was exposed in Single-A with a 28.9 percent strikeout rate.
“I think once he gets that final piece he's gonna be a guy that, I know everybody kind of knows about him now, but it'll be nationally known amongst everybody.”
It sounds like the Phillies believe they have their catcher of the future lined up. It's now on Tait to make good on the team's belief and reach the big leagues. Until then, the Phillies will have to figure things out with their backup catcher dilemma this offseason and what to do when Realmuto becomes a free agent in 2026.