The Phillies are going to place catcher J.T. Realmuto on the 10-day injured list due to a lower back injury, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Fellow catcher Garrett Stubbs will be selected to take Realmuto’s place on the active roster. A corresponding move will be required to open a 40-man spot for Stubbs.
Realmuto was removed from Saturday’s game due to lower back tightness. He sat out the contests on Sunday and Monday before rejoining the lineup on Tuesday, though Gelb notes the injury was still limiting him. It seems the Phils and/or Realmuto have decided that he needs to rest up, rather than try to play through the issue.
That’s probably a sensible decision in the long term but the timing is challenging for the Phillies. They are out to a brutal 8-15 start to the season. They would be the worst team in the majors if not for the Mets struggling even more. The offense has been a particularly weak part for Philly thus far, as they have only scored 80 runs. The Mets and Giants are the only MLB teams with fewer.
Losing Realmuto won’t help. He hasn’t been on fire this year but his .259/.344/.352 line translates to a 100 wRC+, indicating he’s been exactly league average. Catchers are usually about ten points below par, so that’s actually pretty solid production for a backstop. It also has value in the context of so many other hitters in the Philadelphia lineup struggling.
For at least ten days, the Phillies will go with the pairing of Rafael Marchán and Stubbs behind the plate. Marchán has been part of Philly’s catching mix for years, debuting back in 2020, but hasn’t been able to get much playing time behind Realmuto. He has just 271 big league plate appearances spread across the years, with a .223/.283/.364 line and 77 wRC+. That includes a brutal .065/.094/.161 line so far in 2026.
Stubbs has also been in the Philly catching mix for years but both he and Marchán were out of options coming into 2026. The club dabbled with Stubbs playing other positions in spring but ultimately made the decision to go with Marchán as the backup and push Stubbs off the roster. He cleared outright waivers, allowing the Phillies to keep him around as non-roster depth.
That has led to today’s return to the big leagues. He has an excellent .289/.413/.632 line in Triple-A this year, but in a tiny sample size of ten games and 46 plate appearances. In his major league career, he has stepped to the plate 521 times and produced a .215/.293/.310 line and 70 wRC+.
Stubbs and Marchán will try their best to cover for Realmuto’s absence but his IL stint will make it a bit harder for them to pull out of this early tailspin. Ideally, he will heal up and return after a minimal absence. As mentioned, both Stubbs and Marchán are out of options, so one of them will likely be pushed off the roster when Realmuto’s IL stint is done.
Photo courtesy of Kyle Ross, Imagn Images
