A .153 average and an OPS+ of 2 rarely buy a catcher a long runway. Garrett Stubbs, a veteran backup catcher, ran out of road after 35 games and 65 plate appearances in 2026. The Philadelphia Phillies are now moving on, and the timing says plenty about where this roster is headed.
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According to Scott Lauber, a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter, the Philadelphia Phillies have designated backup catcher Garrett Stubbs for assignment, ending his five-year run with the organization. The decision lands right after the World Series ended, with several Phillies players also hitting free agency on Thursday.
The production explains why the move was coming.
With a .153 average, no extra-base hits, and three RBIs, Stubbs appeared on the field five times during mop-up duty. He started only 17 games behind the plate and missed about a week and a half in July with left wrist inflammation.
That backdrop led MLB Trade Rumors writer Anthony Franco to open his transaction report with a blunt line.
“The move ends Stubbs’ five-year tenure with the organization.”
Garrett Stubbs, the Philadelphia Phillies’ 33-year-old catcher, spent three seasons from 2022 through 2024 as the primary backup to starting catcher J.T. Realmuto before slipping to third on the depth chart over the past two years.
The other two catchers ahead of Garrett Stubbs in the hierarchy were perennial starter J.T. Realmuto and secondary reserve Rafael Marchán.
While he shared minor league depth options with Rafael Marchán, Stubbs remained the definitive main big-league reserve role player across most of this window.
Over 181 regular-season games in his five-year career with the Philadelphia Phillies (2022–2026), Garrett Stubbs recorded a .212 batting average with 94 hits, 7 home runs, and 42 RBIs.
The financial side of the deal shapes what comes next.
Stubbs earned $975,000 on a one-year arbitration contract, and with more than three years of service time, he can reject an outright assignment after clearing waivers and elect free agency while keeping his money. That is the expected outcome.
With Stubbs heading out, the Phillies now face a roster question that stretches well beyond one spot on the bench. The catching group as a whole needs a rethink.
Phillies must rebuild their catching depth
Swapping out Stubbs is just part of the challenge since the main issue lies behind the plate on most nights.
Realmuto, the Phillies’ 35-year-old starting catcher, made 122 starts in 2026 and trailed only William Contreras with 1,058 2/3 innings behind the dish, yet slogged through a career-worst year.
The trio of Realmuto, Marchán, and Stubbs had a wretched line of .183/.254/.285, which was easily the worst production of any group of catchers in the majors.
Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations, would like to lessen the load of Realmuto, who is locked in for two more seasons at an annual salary of $15 million.
Marchán is out of options and has yet to hit big-league pitching, so he joins Stubbs on the non-tender watch list.
After an 88-74 regular-season finish and a Wild Card Series exit against the Atlanta Braves, the Phillies cannot afford another bottom-tier backstop group.