Major League Baseball has a lot to sort out this offseason. The upcoming lockout could lead to games being missed for the first time in more than 30 years, threatening the sport's long-term health. Each team has a player representative who will vote on potential collective bargaining agreements. For the Philadelphia Phillies, their player rep is Garrett Stubbs, who is no longer with the team.
Stubbs has spent the past half-decade in Philadelphia, serving primarily as J.T. Realmuto’s backup. The 33-year-old isn’t much of a hitter, with a .212/.292/.300 slash line over 181 total games in red pinstripes. The Phillies went with a combination of Stubbs and Rafael Marchán behind Realmuto in 2026, both of whom posted sub-.400 OPS marks. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said during his year-end press conference that the team will look for a more capable time-share partner for the coming season.
With Stubbs designated for assignment last week, the first part of the plan has gone into effect. He does not plan to return to the Phillies in 2027. It adds an interesting wrinkle to the upcoming labor war.
Despite no longer being a member of the Phillies, Garrett Stubbs is their most important player at the moment
As a player rep, Stubbs attends union meetings, negotiating sessions, and reports back to his teammates. Then, Stubbs and his fellow player reps (as well as an eight-man executive subcommittee) each cast one vote on behalf of their respective teams on whether to accept proposals for new collective bargaining agreements.
Negotiations have not gone smoothly so far. All the owners’ proposals have been contingent on implementing a salary cap, a clause the players have stated they will not accept. In fact, Stubbs himself commented on the current stalemate: “Watching [MLB deputy commissioner] Dan Halem sit on the other side of the table and go over the proposals that he goes over with the salary cap attached to every single proposal, and obviously they know our stance on the salary cap, it is the biggest waste of time. It’s a charade. And it’s exhausting sitting there watching him. I’m like, does he even believe some of the things that are coming out of his mouth?”
Garrett Stubbs, Phillies catcher & @mlbpa team rep said today about sitting across from management in CBA talks,
— Jeff Bates (@jeffbatesx) October 30, 2026
“Watching [MLB deputy commissioner] Dan Halem sit on the other side of the table and go over the proposals that he goes over with the salary cap attached to every…
The public posturing of both players and owners recently has pointed to a prolonged standoff this winter, as both sides try to get the better of the other.
It’ll be interesting to see where Stubbs ends up once the labor unrest comes to a conclusion. He may not be a particularly effective hitter, but he’s a solid defender who controls the running game exceptionally well, is renowned for his ability to handle the pitching staff, and has an outsized locker room presence. Some have speculated that Stubbs could pursue a coaching career whenever his playing days end, given his outgoing personality and strategic mind.
Less than a month from now, Major League Baseball will be upended for an undetermined amount of time. Superstars like Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani will be mere observers as millionaires and billionaires duke it out over their portions of an enormous pie, and Garrett Stubbs, a man without a Major League contract, will be an important voice in deciding their fate.
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