Inside The Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies Backup Catcher Battle Has Only Gotten More Challenging

The Philadelphia Phillies have an interesting battle for who is going to the backup catcher, in what could be an important role this season.

Dylan Sanders

Mar 7, 2025; Bradenton, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs (21) looks to run against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth inning during spring training at LECOM Park.
Mar 7, 2025; Bradenton, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs (21) looks to run against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth inning during spring training at LECOM Park. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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The Philadelphia Phillies have most of their Opening Day roster figured out by now, but one position battle is still raging on.

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter recently went through each team's biggest decision left to make this spring, and for the Phillies, it was who is going to take the job of backup catcher.

For most teams, the backup catcher is not that crucial of a decision. It is important, but is someone that isn't going to see the field that often.

That is not the case in Philadelphia.

While J.T. Realmuto has been one of the sport's best catchers for a long time now, he is certainly not an iron man. He hasn't played 140 games in a season since 2019 and didn't even play 100 last year.

The Phillies have also made it known that they are planning to decrease his workload this season to manage his health, so the backup catcher will be seen quite a bit.

The battle is between Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchan.

Right now, it could be a coin flip.

Marchan was the favorite entering the spring, but the performances on the field have not made it a simple choice. Stubbs is the incumbent and is a great locker room presence, but the problem is he has been poor at the plate for the last couple of years.

He has a .206/.287/.271 slash line and two home runs over the last two seasons which is why there is even a battle in the first place.

This spring, though, he has been playing at a new level.

Over 21 plate appearances, at the time of writing, he has a .375/.524/1.024 slash line with three walks and four RBI.

He has shown potential as a batter before and is hitting another stride at the right time as he fights for his job.

Marchan was much better as a hitter in the Majors last year, but in a smaller sample size when he slashed .294/.345/.549 in 17 games with three home runs.

But now, during spring training, he has been in a bit of a slump.

His slash line is down to .261/.345/.304, as he has only hit one extra-base hit. He has also drawn three walks and has three RBI.

What could end up making the decision for Philadelphia, is the fact that Marchan doesn't have any options left.

If they want to send him down, they must designate him for assignment and risk losing him.

Stubbs has one more option left, so he can be sent down without hassle.

There are a handful of factors at play, so this will be an interesting battle to watch as spring training begins to wind down.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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