{"id":560099,"date":"2026-02-07T20:12:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T20:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/560099\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T20:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T20:12:15","slug":"mlb-rumors-phillies-face-imminent-decision-on-j-t-realmutos-backup-catcher-ahead-of-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/560099\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB Rumors: Phillies face imminent decision on J.T. Realmuto&#8217;s backup catcher ahead of 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/bolavip.com\/en\/topic\/philadelphia-phillies\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Philadelphia Phillies\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Philadelphia Phillies<\/a> are heading into spring training with a key decision looming at the catcher position. Only one of <a href=\"https:\/\/bolavip.com\/en\/topic\/jt-realmuto\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"J.T. Realmuto\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">J.T. Realmuto<\/a>\u2019s backups is likely to earn a guaranteed roster spot for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n<p>Rafael Marchan and Garrett Stubbs will compete during camp to see who stays with the big-league team. Marchan, 26, has been with the Phillies longer and has more upside, while Stubbs, 32, offers experience and clubhouse leadership.<\/p>\n<p>According to MLB.com\u2019s Paul Casella, \u201cSimilar to last year, Rafael Marchan and Garrett Stubbs will come into camp competing to back up starter J.T. Realmuto. Unlike last year, however, neither March\u00e1n nor Stubbs has a Minor League option remaining. That was essentially the deciding factor last year, as March\u00e1n did not have any options remaining and Stubbs did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>    Camp performance likely to decide the backup spot <\/p>\n<p>Both players have similar behind-the-plate skills, but Marchan\u2019s hitting and raw talent may give him an initial edge. Stubbs, meanwhile, has a contract suggesting a longer-term plan if he remains on the roster.<\/p>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"i-amphtml-intrinsic-sizer\" role=\"presentation\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyBoZWlnaHQ9IjEwODAiIHdpZHRoPSIxOTIwIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIvPg==\"\/> Cristopher S\u00e1nchez #61 of the Phillies celebrates with Rafael March\u00e1n #13 and Garrett Stubbs #21 after the game. Mitchell Leff\/Getty Images <\/p>\n<p>Salary-wise, Marchan earns $860,000, while Stubbs is on a split deal of $925,000\/$575,000. Ultimately, performance during spring training could be the deciding factor.<\/p>\n<p>  Longstanding Competition Coming to a Close <\/p>\n<p>The Marchan-Stubbs battle has been ongoing for four years, creating uncertainty at the backup catcher position. With the Phillies entering a critical season, the organization is expected to finally make a clear choice as spring wraps up, bringing an end to the years-long competition behind Realmuto.<\/p>\n<p>SURVEY Who do you think should be J.T. Realmuto\u2019s backup for the Phillies in 2026?<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-poll__title-wrapper__question-xs jsx-3883365378\">Who do you think should be J.T. Realmuto\u2019s backup for the Phillies in 2026?<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-poll__vote-counter article-poll__vote-counter-69872e2d70a943df4bc92aa7 jsx-3883365378\">already voted 6 fans<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Philadelphia Phillies are heading into spring training with a key decision looming at the catcher position. Only&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":560100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2397],"tags":[5,14550,4,144,25,4216,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-560099","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-phillies","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-jt-realmuto","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-philadelphia","12":"tag-philadelphia-phillies","13":"tag-philadelphiaphillies","14":"tag-phillies"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116031176339614882","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=560099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/560099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/560100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=560099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=560099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=560099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}