Phillies Happy To Keep a Veteran in the Organization After DFA

Catcher Garrett Stubbs has chosen to remain in the Phillies organization and accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

It's good news for the Phils, who preserve some veteran catching depth in the event that J.T. Realmuto or Rafael Marchan suffer an injury. Stubbs, 32, had been designated for assignment on Wednesday when the Phillies added Justin Crawford and infielder Christian Cairo to their 40-man roster. Cairo had a clause in his contract that required the Phillies to add him to their 40 or release him, and Stubbs was the casualty.

It only made sense for Stubbs to leave the Phillies if he found a big-league job elsewhere. His split contract pays him $575,000 this season in the minors, which is substantially more than most minor-league players make. A team that claimed him on waivers or traded for him would have been absorbing that contract.

"For him personally, I hope he gets a big-league job. For me personally and for the organization, we hope he comes back," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said on Opening Day.

"He's meant so much to this place, the energy that he brings, the type of teammate that he is. And he's a good player, too, on top of that. Unfortunately, when he was here, he was behind the best catcher in baseball so he didn't get a whole lot of playing time."

Stubbs has been with the Phillies since November 2021, when they acquired him from the Houston Astros. Stubbs hit .264/.350/.462 that first season, impressing offensively and defensively, but he hasn't hit since, just .205/.286/.270 in 313 plate appearances. He still does provide the Phils value with his defense, game-planning work and familiarity with pitchers up and down the organization.

The Phils also got him some work this spring at third base and in left field to increase his versatility and see what it looks like.

"I think he showed us enough in spring training that he's a potential super-utility guy that can play anywhere in the outfield, anywhere in the infield, maybe not first base, but also catch," Thomson said. "He's got a lot of value."

Catching depth

Marchan made the team out of camp over Stubbs for the second year in a row. Last year, it was more obvious because Marchan was out of minor-league options and Stubbs was not. This year, they were both out of minor-league options, but again Marchan, 27, was the likelier of the two to be claimed by another team on waivers.

The backup to Realmuto plays sparingly as it is. Marchan started only 30 games last season and hit .210 with a .587 OPS in 118 plate appearances.

The IronPigs carried three catchers on their break-camp roster: Rene Pinto, Paul McIntosh and Caleb Ricketts. One will likely be sent to Double-A to make room for Stubbs.

Pinto appeared in 82 major-league games from 2022-24 with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Phillies signed him in January. McIntosh was acquired from Miami along with Jesus Luzardo. Ricketts started at first base in Lehigh Valley's season-opener.