Phillies Made Right Decision Choosing Rafael Marchan Over Garrett Stubbs

The Philadelphia Phillies made their decision about the backup catcher position, and it was the right one.

Jun 27, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher Rafael Marchan (13) reacts after hitting a home run against the Miami Marlins in the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

One of the most notable roster battles coming into camp for the Philadelphia Phillies was their backup catcher position.

With J.T. Realmuto getting up there in age and his offensive production starting to crater compared to what he's done in the past, the Phillies want to limit the amount of games he plays behind the plate this year, hoping that saves his legs for the playoffs so he can be an effective part of their lineup.

But to do that, they need a reliable secondary option.

Garrett Stubbs has been that guy for Philadelphia since they acquired him ahead of the 2022 campaign, and he turned into a loveable figure for the team and fan base during their run to the World Series that year.

However, his own offensive numbers have started to falter, and that became the reason for this camp battle in the first place.

The Phillies ultimately made their decision about who is going to start the 2025 season backing up Realmuto, opting to go with former top prospect Rafael Marchan over Stubbs.

That's the right decision.

Besides the fact that Stubbs has a minor league option remaining and Marchan doesn't, Philadelphia needs to see what Marchan can provide going forward to determine if he can be the next catcher for this franchise when Realmuto is no longer on the team.

To this point, that's largely been a question mark.

Marchan made his Major League debut at 21 years old during the COVID-impacted 2020 season, and while he only got into three games throughout that campaign, it seemed like he was going to be a part of this roster going forward.

However, injuries have derailed that possibility.

He didn't appear in the bigs during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, affected by a hamstring strain and hamate bone fracture.

But he reopened the possibility of being an impact player for the Phillies last year when he was called up and produced an OPS+ that was 47 points above the league average during his 17 games and 56 plate appearances, hitting three homers, seven extra-base hits and six RBI.

That's a small sample size, but that's the type of offense Philadelphia is looking for this season.

If Marchan can do that throughout the 2025 campaign, then the Phillies will be able to give Realmuto the requisite rest he needs to have more gas left in the tank when the games mean more.

If he struggles to produce or gets injured again, then his time with the franchise will likely be over.

Philadelphia needs to know what they have in Marchan ahead of Realmuto hitting the open market after the season, so putting him on the Opening Day roster will give them an idea about that early.

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