Garrett Stubbs/Rafael Marchán
Finally, we arrive at the fill-ins for J.T. Realmuto. Realmuto’s meniscus repair is a reminder of the fact that the three-time All-Star is very likely to age just like everyone else, that he is not actually an iron man, and he is 33.
Garrett Stubbs is quite a capable backup, but not nearly as good at most of the things that Realmuto can do as a catcher and a hitter. Stubbs is a better bunter, and although Realmuto is not slow for a catcher — or hasn’t been until now — Stubbs is a faster runner.
Rafael Marchán was added to the Phillies active roster in the wake of the plan for Realmuto’s surgery. And here’s where all Phillies fans sort of throw up their hands and say, “Well, we still have the better part of a month to see how that’ll work out.”
When Realmuto stopped playing for his procedure, he was hitting .261 with 20 runs driven in, eight doubles, a triple, and seven home runs. He had scored 28 runs. In his time with the Phillies since 2019, FanGraphs has calculated Realmuto's WAR at 22.1. That figure would likely be higher if not for the shortened 2020 season.
So, mere days later, it’s borderline silly to examine what Stubbs and Marchán have done so far. But that won’t stop us. In the games since Realmuto has gone on the IL, Stubbs has gone 4-for-19 with two stolen bases. (Realmuto has one.)
Marchán has played in five games since Realmuto’s surgery. He is hitting .333 with five hits behind a 4-for-4 evening against the Padres on June 16 in a 9-2 Phillies win. The Phillies are 3-2 in his games. In all games when Stubbs has played this season, the team is 14-9. With Realmuto behind the plate, Philadelphia is 35-16.
Realmuto has been a workhorse. One can only wonder whether the next three-plus weeks will be pivotal in this great season thus far, just because Realmuto will be absent. While he’s out, there are at least feisty replacements for him.