This is only the third time in Realmuto’s eight years with the Phillies that he’ll be on the injured list. Emilee Chinn / Getty Images
April 22, 2026Updated 2:42 pm EDT
The Philadelphia Phillies, losers of seven straight and owners of the worst run differential in MLB, will be without their starting catcher for at least 10 days.
J.T. Realmuto will go on the injured list Wednesday with a lower back injury, league sources told The Athletic. Realmuto had missed two games but played Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs, only for the injury to be too restrictive. Garrett Stubbs will be promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, sources said, and split time behind the plate with Rafael Marchán.
It’s just another blow to a Phillies team that has dug itself a sizable hole. Realmuto has played through nagging back and foot injuries in the first few weeks of this season, but he’s been one of the few right-handed hitters on the roster with a pulse. He has batted .259/.344/.352 in 61 plate appearances.
This is only the third time in Realmuto’s eight years with the Phillies that he’ll be on the injured list. He missed 10 days in 2021 with a bruised hand and almost six weeks in 2024 with a torn meniscus.
Marchán, pressed into more action than expected this month, has begun the season 2-for-31 (.065) with a homer and seven strikeouts. Stubbs hit .289/.413/.632 in 46 plate appearances with Lehigh Valley this season. The Phillies will have to make a corresponding 40-man roster move to clear space for Stubbs.
Garrett Stubbs played just five games for the Phillies in 2025. He hit .289/.413/.632 in 10 games at Triple A this season. (Mark Taylor / Getty Images)
Having to put one of those catchers in the lineup every night adds to the juggling act Rob Thomson is attempting. The manager even used rookie Felix Reyes as his cleanup hitter this week in his second big-league start. There are not many levers to pull. The roster, constructed by president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, is the roster. The Phillies have to play better.
Nothing matters until a few players not named Kyle Schwarber or Bryce Harper do something. Entering Wednesday, the rest of the Phillies had hit a combined .211 with a .586 OPS. It is hard for a collection of big-league hitters to be that bad for almost a month, but these Phillies have done just that.
Apr 22, 2026
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