The Philadelphia Phillies have settled on their Opening Day roster for the 2026 season, and there aren’t too many surprises. The two catchers the team carries will be stalwart J.T. Realmuto and switch-hitter Rafael Marchán. In light of that, longtime backup and team mascot Garrett Stubbs has been squeezed out of the picture, and the club is reportedly shopping him ahead of Thursday’s season opener. Let’s take a look around the league at some other teams that could make use of Stubbs’ services if this is indeed the end of his memorable Phillies career.
Predicting trade destinations for Garrett Stubbs as Phillies' deadline looms
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are never ones to spend big money, preferring to patchwork their roster together with undervalued assets from other teams. They’ve had a lot of success over the years turning trash into treasure, and considering the sorry state of their catching situation, it would behoove them to bring in another option.
The Rays are currently projected to open the season with glove-only veteran Nick Fortes and light-hitting Dodgers castoff Hunter Feduccia as their catching tandem. Fortes will likely get the bulk of the work, with Feduccia and his lifetime .506 OPS spelling him when needed. Garrett Stubbs may not be much of a hitter, but even he has an OPS over the .600 mark for his career.
The Phils shouldn’t need much in order to part with their chief vibes officer, but perhaps they could bring in a youngster with a bit of upside like 22-year-old southpaw Yereny Teus or powerful, but strikeout-prone outfielder Jhon Diaz.
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a bad baseball team. Like really bad. They finished the 2025 season with a reprehensible 43-119 record, and don’t seem to be in a much improved position heading into this year. They need help all over, but one of the few bright spots for the team last season was All-Star backstop Hunter Goodman, who posted an .843 OPS in 144 games. That may seem on the surface to indicate that the Rockies don’t need another catcher, but their depth chart is pretty bare behind Goodman.
The Rockies' Opening Day roster will include journeyman Brett Sullivan as the backup catcher. The 32-year-old has appeared in 43 big league games over parts of three seasons, with a grand total of 21 hits to his name. Triple-A-bound Braxton Fulford has hit well in the minors, but was abysmal in his first taste of the big leagues last season, and at 27 years old isn’t much of a prospect anymore.
Garrett Stubbs would add another option to the mix, one who can hit a bit better than Sullivan and has far more experience than Fulford. The Rockies could bring in Stubbs for a minimal cost, like Double-A backstop Bryant Betancourt or 23-year-old lefty reliever Isaiah Coupet.
San Diego Padres
Unlike the Rockies, the San Diego Padres are a good baseball team. Similarly to the Rockies, they have a shortage of catching depth. General Manager A.J. Preller was able to wallpaper over a complete black hole at last year’s deadline by bringing in longtime Kansas City Royal Freddy Fermin, but he’s not exactly a world beater. Behind Fermin on the depth chart is failed prospect Luis Campusano, and after that are complete dregs.
It would behoove Preller to add another catcher with a decent amount of big league experience who can handle a pitching staff to in case one of his existing options stinks. Stubbs wouldn’t push Fermin for a ton of playing time, but would be a nice insurance policy behind Campusano, who the club basically gave up on last season. The Padres could reel in Stubbs for a lottery ticket arm like Chinese-born Zack Qin, or wild lefty Bodi Rascon.