The Philadelphia Phillies had a decision to make with their catcher position coming into the 2025 season. As always, they chose to carry J.T. Realmuto as their starter, but went with Rafael Marchán as their No. 2, sending Garrett Stubbs to Triple-A. Marchán showed a ton of promise last season, so a MLB roster spot seemed inevitable.
So far in 2025, it has worked quite the opposite as Stubbs has been hitting the cover off the ball while Marchán has proved ineffective.
Phillies fans knew Marchán could possibly replace Stubbs at some point, but how it has turned out, not as much. Marchán was supposed to be implemented more to give Realmuto more days off, but has only appeared in nine of 39 total games. In those games, he's batting just .087 with a .337 OPS.
Phillies should be regretting Opening Day decision to go with Rafael Marchán over Garrett Stubbs
Stubbs, for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs has put together a .313 batting average with three home runs, 22 RBIs and a .888 OPS in 23 games. According to Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer, he has welcomed a mentor role for the younger players (subscription required).
The Phillies may be regretting the decision they've made with the backup catcher position. Much was talked about Stubbs just being a clubhouse guy in Philadelphia. Coupled with Marchán being out of minor league options, the Opening Day decision seemed justifiable. But the Phillies have now put themselves in the same position as previous years, if not worse, with Realmuto playing just as much and no reliable back up to fill the offensive hole.
The Phillies continue to have a serious problem with the catcher position outside of Realmuto, whom they acquired via trade back in 2019. They haven't been able to develop talent for any other backstops. The only one they had to possibly see a changing of the guard was Logan O'Hoppe, who's thriving after being shipped off to Anaheim to bring in outfielder Brandon Marsh at the 2022 trade deadline.
Stubbs could just be having a really great start to his year and could trail off as the year goes on. The same could be said for Marchán's terrible start. He batted .294 over 17 games in 2024, the majority of which was when Realmuto was recovering from knee surgery over the summer.
The narrative could change, but Phillies manager Rob Thomson isn't confident about giving Marchán a heavier workload, so why not bring back the chief vibes officer and give him another shot? Per On Pattison's Anthony SanFilippo, Stubbs has proven his leadership qualities as a major leaguer, and the Phillies players would love to have him back in the clubhouse.