Phillies 2026 Spring Training Discussion

[andyb]

Plus that $575K AAA salary means a lot of teams wouldn't be doing it in the hopes of sneaking him through later.

But the salary is a bargain if some team wants him to be their backup catcher.

[zambonir]

Well he gets $975K in that case, but sure. You never know when a team might need a catcher. But if Stubbs was really good enough to be an MLB back-up, especially for a team that needs to play their back-up catcher more than the Phillies will, he should actually have trade value, especially at that salary. Just not sure he really is (good enough).

Seems inevitable he's going to work for the Phillies after he retires and could even play for LHV for several more years; it's just that he was rewarded with the September call-up, so he's on the 40 (and the Phillies also didn't know what was going to happen with JT, and might have included Marchan in a trade for another catcher).

[Austinfan]

Think Stubbs has enough time on a ML roster to collect his pension and other benefits.
So if he sees his future in coaching with the Phillies, might prefer to stay with the organization than go elsewhere as a #3 catcher.

[zambonir]

Yeah but once he retires and becomes a coach he takes a massive pay cut. If he has a shot at more service time anywhere, he has to take it, plus he probably wants to play. He's not going to refuse to report to another team on their major league roster. And he wouldn't be the #3 catcher. Or, if he is, he'll still be a big-leaguer. If he goes on waivers again, the Phillies could get him back. Now, if it turns into a Buddy Kennedy situation he may just retire rather than be Erik Kratz.

And who knows, maybe he'll make the Phillies. The other bench options (Moore, De La Cruz) aren't on the 40, and they could also figure on having an easier time slipping him through waivers a few weeks or a month into the season. It certainly would give Thomson a nice option for PH with Marchan or Realmuto too, if they did it. My guess is he's still playing in Allentown on their Opening Day.

[andyb]

So if he sees his future in coaching with the Phillies, might prefer to stay with the organization than go elsewhere as a #3 catcher.

Number 2 catcher, not number 3. If he goes elsewhere as a number 3 he would just get claimed on waivers again. Some teams might not have a backup catcher as good as Stubbs now. There is really no reason for him to consider retirement either. He is still 32 and could probably be a 600-625 OPS backup catcher with decent defense. Backup catchers in the majors get paid more than minor league coaches.

His contract also makes him relatively unattractive as a number 3 to other teams. It is only worth it (and then might be a bargain) if he is the number 2 guy. Some team with a young catcher and no experienced backup might want him to help teach that young catcher.

[VoteForKalas]

Playing Stubbs in tne OF would be so on brand for the Phillies lol. What a joke. OMG, we may lose Stubbs!! Whatever will the organization do to recover?

[Austinfan]

I think it's more about flexibility with a short bench, you pinch hit for Marsh against LH RP, then need a LH OF later in the game for an inning or two.
When you only have 5 guys on the bench, a 3rd catcher who can fill in at LF and maybe 1B just gives the manager more options in late innings.
Whereas if you have 1 catcher, 2 IF, 2 OFs . . .

[allentown]

This reads like a bad joke to me. Stubbs is going into his age 33 season. He played almost not at all last season. In 2023 and 2024 he had an OPS+ of 53 and 57. A guy who hits like that can't be a fill-in candidate at corner OF. His only value is that he is a decent defender as a catcher. It's not difficult to find someone who is a better defender than Stubbs could be at 1B or corner OF, can also sub in the IF and 1B, and can provide an OPS+ of 60. That person won't be able to be a 3rd C, but do we really need a 3rd C. We don't need a 33-year-old utility guy likely to not OPS+ north of 55. I think Schwarber could play LF as well as Stubbs, so I'm not seeing the advantage of this 'flexibility' Stubbs provides.

The most worrying ST development for the Phillies future is Aidan Miller's continuing back problem, with no indication he'll be able to get into a ST game. It's reasonable that he won't be able to start the season in Allentown. With a balky back, better to let him stay in FL until the nights are warmer. This isn't his first go-around with lower back issues. He came back from the prior probllem, but a recurrence at his age is disturbing.

[zambonir]

But in reality, if you pinch hit for Marsh it's going to be with Kemp or Moore/De La Cruz, and it might not even be until the 8th inning (Marsh may not start against LHP but he won't necessarily get hooked at the first sight of a LH reliever every time). And Stubbs is such a poor hitter that letting Kemp face a RHP is hardly an issue. In fact, Stubbs has career reverse splits, .567 OPS against RHP, .707 against LHP.

I don't think it's a joke, nor do I think it is serious. Just due diligence to let him see some time at other spots, and it's not like Thomson is going to publicly say Stubbs has no chance to beat out Marchan or make the roster.

[VoteForKalas]

No, but he'll go out of his way to find a roster spot for him which may be worse since it could block a younger talent from getting a chance.

[zambonir]

I just don't think that is going to happen. And it also wouldn't block a younger talent. Dylan Moore is 33. De La Cruz is 29.

And Marchan, while still younger with potential, wasn't actually better than Stubbs last year. If Stubbs won the job it wouldn't be unjustifiable.

[andyb]

And remember the big motivation here is likely the desire to keep Stubbs in a spot that rarely plays because we really don't have much in AA or AAA. They don't seem confident in a McIntosh or Pinto or Hettiger for 2026.

[zambonir]

Hey, there's always Kolozsvary. He's 30 and 5'7", would we even know the difference?

I think we are probably overrating the possibility of Stubbs being lost on waivers, and VFK and Atown's years of historical Phillies trauma is also leading them to overrate the extent to which the Phillies would try to keep him. He's probably in the Aramis Garcia stage of his career (Phillies were able to outright him in 2024 after a call-up, and DBacks did so twice last year).

It's just a procedural inconvenience that he's already on the 40. They surely could have outrighted him and re-signed him without another team stepping in after the season, but with JT coming off the 40, that wouldn't have been prudent.

[BostonRoss]

This is a whole lot of discussion about whether the Phillies would keep an older guy who can’t hit and has little experience playing in the field. The only way Stubbs makes the team is if there’s an injury or they decide he’s better than Marchan. I’m hoping neither of those things happens.

[zambonir]

Stubbs actually really can play the field, he was both an OF and 2B in college and played both positions as well as 1B for Houston in the minors. Also played 3B for Israel!

And let's not forget his pitching.

He got exactly 1 AB for the Phillies last year as the 27th man. Kody Clemens got seven as the 26th man last March and April, with a .143 OPS. So the bar for that spot, in terms of both usage and performance, isn't really that high, if the only goal is to try and keep him on the roster until it's easier to outright him. Unlike with Clemens (who had no trade value but did get traded once on waivers) they obviously want Stubbs in the organization. I still can't really see another team committing to him as their back-up catcher.

[kmc1019]

As has been demonstrated and repeated on this thread, Stubbs is not a major league caliber hitter and has had years of sample size for anyone to reach that conclusion.
He was a glaring weakness as the backup catcher for far too long. He is obviously a great clubhouse guy and teammate, but the team should not rely on him in anything other than a catching emergency and certainly not as an extra bat in the field.

[zambonir]

I just don't know that he was a glaring weakness. They won 95 games with him in 2024. They won 96 without him in 2025. He had a 0.4 WAR in 2024. Marchan was 0.2 in 2025.

Obviously Marchan has more potential and he's already the back-up catcher, full-stop. But he's also got that injury history, and JT will continue to be an injury risk too. If Stubbs did make the roster it would only be temporary and they would not be relying on him for anything more than 2 ABs a week. Rojas would have been a better choice (since he's a true CF and not a bad one), but so it goes.

I still don't think it happens because I don't believe any of the 29 other teams would make Stubbs their back-up catcher either. But that doesn't mean organizational depth at catcher isn't worth more, at least temporarily, than the seven ABs your 26th man might get over a month. Weston Wilson hit .198 for the Phillies last year in far more playing time.

[julio]

I just don't know that he was a glaring weakness. They won 95 games with him in 2024. They won 96 without him in 2025. He had a 0.4 WAR in 2024. Marchan was 0.2 in 2025.

WAR is a function of playing time.

Neither of these guys is particularly good. If neither of them substantially hurt the Phillies in the backup catcher role in the past, that’s mostly because Realmuto was rested so rarely. Can the Phillies open 2026 assuming JT will start 135 to 140 games? If he can’t (or if he breaks down), do they want to depend on a catching tandem of Marchan/Stubbs?

[andyb]

Can the Phillies open 2026 assuming JT will start 135 to 140 games? If he can’t (or if he breaks down), do they want to depend on a catching tandem of Marchan/Stubbs?

First part is right. Second part is not the question they are asking. It is more like do they want to go for a month with a Marchan/Pinto tandem.

Even healthy JT probably tops out at 120-125 games. But I imagine his over/under these days is more like 110 with potential injuries and IL viisits.

Moore probably makes the most sense with his versatility. De La Cruz is the best hitter but overlaps with Kemp in how they would be deployed. Stubbs has the advantage of already being on the 40 and being left-handed. It is not much of an advantage of course, but they just do not need the last man to do too much if Crawford and Garcia play full time.

[julio]

It is more like do they want to go for a month with a Marchan/Pinto tandem.

Fair enough. After just a quick look, it seems to me that a Marchan/Pinto tandem for a month would be better than a Marchan/Stubbs tanderm. Pinto is well regarded defensively, he's younger than Stubbs, and he appears to be better at the plate.

Given that, should we give any credibility at all to the suggestion that Stubbs might make the Opening Day roster? Doesn't it make more sense to just outright him, take the (small) chance that he's claimed on waivers, or opts for free agency (if he's eligible to do that - I'm not going to bother checking, because I frankly don't think he's worth that much effort on my part right now!), and then transition him to coaching?