Philadelphia Phillies Position Preview: Catchers
The Philadelphia Phillies enter 2025 as a pivotal year in its franchise, with its goal to bring back the World Series to Broad Street. The Fightins enter spring training with the fourth-highest payroll in all of baseball with only one World Series appearance to show for it. With its aging core, the roster cannot be sustained in winning so there is a lot of pressure with this group of players. Outside of J.T. Realmuto holding down the main catcher spot, questions have been asked about who the team’s second catcher on the roster will be. Will it be fan favorite Garrett Stubbs or the young upcomer Rafael Marchán to start the 2025 season?
J.T. Realmuto
Since his arrival in the Phillies organization in 2019, the starting catcher position has been locked down by J.T. Realmuto and he has been one of the top catchers in baseball. In his time in Philadelphia, Realmuto has been a two-time all-star and a two-time Gold Glove winner. Offensively, he has provided great impact from his bat with a .266 career batting average with the Phillies to go along with 109 home runs and 382 RBIs. On the other hand, defensively, Realmuto has the quickest pop time in the MLB to go along with his two Gold Glove trophies. Realmuto did struggle a bit last year, though not showing it in his stats, he only appeared in 99 games. The second lowest amount during his time in Philadelphia, with the lowest being during the 2020 Covid season where he appeared in only 47. Realmuto, despite his limited action, was still a major contribution to the offense, but his connection with the pitchers cannot be taken for granted. The Phillies will rely heavily on Realmuto throughout the season in their search to get back to the fall classic.
Garrett Stubbs
Garrett Stubbs arrived in the Phillies organization in 2022 to serve as a backup catcher, however, his role has become much more in Philadelphia. Stubbs has been known as a “vibes guy” with his infamous celebration antics and controller of the team’s playlist. When it comes to outside of partying, the success has not been there as of late for Stubbs. Last season, Stubbs batted only .207 with only one home run and 11 RBIs. As for defensively, like Realmuto, Stubbs has one of the best pop times in all of baseball and is a factor defensively with 417 putouts on the season. This past offseason, Stubbs signed a new one-year contract with the Phillies but split the money between when he is in the majors and when he is in Triple-A. Stubbs will need to find success at the plate to help the Phillies succeed and benefit from his other part-time expertise.
Rafael Marchán
Rafael Marchán has seen limited big-league action in his young MLB career up to this point. Just last season though when Realmuto went down last season, Marchán was thrown into the spotlight, and he thrived. Marchán appeared in 17 games for the Phillies where he battled .294 with three home runs and six RBIs. With Marchán, he provides a better bat for the offense while also being just as well defensively as Stubbs. Marchán is top five in pop time in all of baseball while also 126 putouts in only 17 games. Many fans believe that the battle for the second catcher will come down to spring training, but both players will make an impact on the field for the Phillies this season.
