Phillies somehow retain Garrett Stubbs after taking roster risk

While the Opening Day debut from top prospect Justin Crawford left plenty of Philadelphia Phillies fans impressed, the series of roster moves needed to put him in that position — namely designating catcher Garrett Stubs for assignment — was an unfortunate consequence of that excitement.

However, against some pretty stacked odds, the beloved backstop cleared waivers. Hence, the Phillies can keep him around in the organization, out-righting him to Lehigh Valley to serve as premium catching depth in Triple-A.

Though this turn of events won't move the needle, retaining the "vibes guy" is a nice feel-good story for an organization that has made a recent habit of getting on the bad side of some of its players.

If all goes according to plan, Stubbs won't appear at all in Philadelphia in 2026, but having him around as depth in case something happens to starter J.T Realmuto or backup Rafael Marchán is a solid insurance policy.

Garrett Stubbs' fortuitous return to Philly gives Phillies enviable catching depth (or trade bait)

Stubbs lost out on his roster spot because he, like Marchán, was out of minor-league options. The latter is a better hitter and has garnered the trust of the pitching staff, but the former does have 151 games of experience with the Phillies over the past four seasons. That's valuable to have on hand if an injury does hit the backstops on the major-league roster.

Of course, Stubbs is never going to impress at the plate: He's got a 70 wRC+ for his career, and his sub-.300 on-base percentage is hard to reconcile for a catcher. It's the primary reason he's never been able to stick around in the big leagues for too long, but it's not such an issue that he can't fill a spot in a pinch.

It also helps that the Phillies have a robust offense; their deep lineup would cover for any shortcomings Stubbs presents at the plate.

It's also possible that the team could still trade the veteran backstop at some point during the season. They were shopping him around toward the end of spring training, and though they clearly never found a suitor, all it takes is one injury to a starter or backup catcher for another team to come calling.

For everything he lacks with the bat, Stubbs has an enviable glove, posting league-average framing and blocking stats throughout his career to go along with some elite pop time numbers. It's difficult to integrate new catchers during the middle of a season, but it helps if they can control the basepaths from behind the plate.

Until such a move is deemed necessary, Stubbs will play for the IronPigs, where he figures to be the starting catcher like he was in 2025.