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Or are there two?
The 2025 season is upon us. We’ll preview the upcoming year by going around the diamond and look at how the Phillies are stacking up both at the major league level and down on the farm.
When it comes to looking at players to watch at the catching position, pickings are somewhat slim. There are only going to be two on the roster, as opposed to 4-5 infielders, 4-5 outfielders or 13 pitchers. The group to choose from is small. However, there are two candidates that jump out to me, one presumably in the major leagues, the other a recent trade acquisition.
Rafael Marchan
J.T. Realmuto is the starter.
The backup is currently TBD….or is it?
The contract that Garrett Stubbs signed to return to the organization – one that is split between MiLB and MLB salaries – should tell us all we need to know about where the team is leaning towards as the backup catcher. Rafael Marchan is a superior option behind the plate than Stubbs in more or less every way possible (unless Marchan has exquisite taste as a DJ). The team is looking to add Marchan to the major league roster both because he is out of minor league options and because Stubbs is not.
However, based on ability, this should not be a question. Marchan showed last year that he is capable of handling this pitching staff, something that does not equate to nothing. It’s the strength of the team and the organization is going to make sure they are doing everything they can to make sure it operates at optimum levels. There were always questions about how well Marchan’s bat would translate to major league pitching, but last year’s .294/.345/.549 line in limited action should at least ease the fears a bit. It’s a small sample, so that has to be taken into larger consideration, but at least he was league average as a hitter.
The whole thing about Marchan will be injuries. He’s dealt with them his whole career, so the questions will follow him as he moves up the ladder. He won’t be exposed as much being Realmuto’s caddie, so that should theoretically keep him healthier than before. But it also explains why the team continues to use Stubbs as an option. They cannot go into the season with just Realmuto and Marchan as the primary options; there has to be depth.
However, if Marchan can hit at even 65-70% of that line he put up in limited time last season, the upgrade over Stubbs is big. Should he receive more playing time and keep Realmuto healthy as well, it’s an upgrade for the Phillies in a season where upgrades everywhere are going to be necessary to fend off strengthened competition in the division and for a playoff spot.
Paul McIntosh
Yes, I am writing about a backup to a backup to a backup catcher. Why?
Well, think about the doomsday scenarios around the team. J.T. Realmuto missed his first significant time last year thanks to knee surgery. It’s proven he is not, in fact, a superman behind the plate, impervious to injury. The team was forced to rely on Marchan and Stubbs as backups for the time Realmuto was out, the duo actually performing perfectly adequately.
But what if one of those two gets hurts?
Acquiring someone like McIntosh gives the team someone who isn’t a complete nothing at the minor league level who can learn the pitching staff at Lehigh Valley in case there is an emergency at the big league level. His season at AA for the Miami Marlins showed that there was at least something resembling production there, a .246/.340/.385 line with solid walk and strikeout rates to boot. As someone who amounted to not much more than being a throw in in the trade that (mainly) brought Jesus Luzardo to Philadelphia, the team could have done much worse.
The team doesn’t have much catching depth that would be playable at the major league level. This is not just a Phillies issue; it’s a something that is true of teams around the game. So for the Phillies to have grabbed McIntosh to add to the trio of Realmuto, Marchan and Stubbs, it should give the team a bit of ease at night knowing they wouldn’t be completely sunk if the injury bug comes biting.