Phillies 2026 catcher outlook: Free-agent options, prospect forecast, and more

With each home run Kyle Schwarber bashed on his way to a season as a National League MVP finalist, his impending free agency was often the center of conversation.

But the Phillies’ most important free agent might be 34-year-old catcher J.T. Realmuto, because a significant part of their winter to-do list hinges on where he ends up.

“I can’t put a dollar sign on it. It’s just hard to do it,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson of Realmuto’s value. “I’ve had a lot of great catchers I’ve been around. [Jorge] Posada. [Iván] Rodríguez for a short period of time. It goes on and on and on. This guy, to me, is the most prepared guy I’ve ever been around as a catcher.”

» READ MORE: Free-agent outlook: J.T. Realmuto will be 35, but he remains as valuable as ever to the Phillies

Realmuto has backstopped the Phillies since 2019. Part of the reason Zack Wheeler signed with the club that winter was to work with him. The Phillies’ starting pitching has been a major organizational strength, and Realmuto’s game-planning and pitch-calling has been a significant part of that.

Realmuto made 134 starts this season. If a return isn’t in the cards, that’s a lot of innings the Phillies will need to find someone else to cover behind the plate.

Here’s a breakdown of the Phillies’ outlook at catcher in 2026 and beyond.

Committing multiple years to a catcher ahead of his age-35 season is certainly a risk. Realmuto is coming off a down year offensively, slashing .257/.315/.384 with 12 homers. But defensively, he remained elite. Realmuto caught 30 runners stealing, leading the National League, at a 29.7% rate.

A catcher’s pop time is the time elapsed from the moment he catches the pitch until the ball reaches the center of the base, factoring in the exchange from glove to hand and his arm strength. Realmuto’s average pop time to second base in 2025 was 1.86 seconds, the best in baseball. According to Statcast, the league average is 2.0 seconds.

» READ MORE: ‘Phillies Extra’ Q&A: Dusty Wathan on J.T. Realmuto’s future, preparing for robot umpires, and more

And what can’t be quantified is the work that Realmuto does behind the scenes and his impact on the pitching staff.

“He will spend hours watching video, making up his own game plan, and then matching it up with [pitching coach] Caleb [Cotham] and talking with the pitchers,” Thomson said. “And he’s got a great feel for in-game adjustments, when to go to the mound, when to change the pitch, when to change location.”

If Realmuto doesn’t return to the Phillies, could either of his backups — Rafael Marchán or Garrett Stubbs — assume the starting role?

It would be a significant leap for both. The most games Marchán, who will be 27 in February, has started in a season was 88 in 2021, split among double A, triple A, and 20 games in the majors. Stubbs played 76 games this year between the Phillies and triple-A Lehigh Valley, his most since 2018.

Stubbs, 32, spent most of the 2025 season in triple A as he had options remaining. Marchán, who did not, served as Realmuto’s backup in the majors. Stubbs will be out of options in 2026, and he and Marchán are arbitration-eligible.

On the defensive side, Marchán caught 28.2% of runners stealing. According to Statcast data, he catches four runners stealing above average, which ranks in the 84th percentile of baseball. His average pop time of 1.88 seconds is in the 96th percentile.

Marchán slashed .210/.282/.305 in 42 games. As a switch hitter, he was better from the right side, with a .267 average compared to .187 as a lefty.

When evaluating the offensive numbers of any backup catcher, it’s important to factor in the irregular playing time.

“Unbelievable,” Thomson said of Marchán’s season. “I mean, that is one of the toughest jobs you can ever have, is to be the backup catcher of J.T. Realmuto, play every five days. Plus, this is a young player who’s played pretty much every day when he’s played in the minor leagues, to be able to come up [and] make that adjustment. Plus, he’s a switch-hitter. He’s got to do extra work because he’s got to practice from both sides of the plate.

“The thing I think he’s learned a lot from J.T. and from Caleb is about game planning and preparing for that night’s game. He did a phenomenal job.”

Stubbs had more regular at-bats in triple-A and slashed .265/.352/.402 over 71 games with Lehigh Valley. He was recalled on Sept. 1 when rosters expanded but appeared in only five games as a pinch-runner, recording one plate appearance. With the IronPigs, Stubbs had a 23% caught-stealing rate.

» READ MORE: Where will Kyle Schwarber land? Sizing up the Phillies’ competition in the free-agent sweepstakes

Like Realmuto, some of Stubbs’ contributions to the club can’t be quantified. The time he spent in Lehigh Valley allowed him to take a mentorship role for some of the younger players, especially top pitching prospect Andrew Painter. And it wasn’t just prospects: Brandon Marsh credited a conversation with Stubbs in Lehigh for helping turn his season around after an early slump.

“That’s my mindset of wanting everybody in here to be playing their absolute best,” Stubbs said. “So whether it was a guy like Marshy who’s played in the league and was trying to get back to his normal self, or a young guy that maybe wanted to have some insight in how it is in the locker room in the big leagues, like Otto Kemp or a Mick Abel or Andrew Painter, and just be able to give them that insight to be able to perform at their highest level, because they’re all talented.”

If Realmuto departs, the Phillies will likely have to look outside the organization to try to make up the difference.

“If you don’t bring him back, then you have to work on trying to complement your organization with having someone that has many of the qualities he has, that he brings to the table on a daily basis,” said president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

Beyond Realmuto, the free-agent market for catchers is not deep. Victor Caratini, 32, suited up for 114 games for the Astros in 2025, second-most among free-agent catchers. He slashed .259/.324/.404 with 12 homers. Caratini is a solid blocking catcher (plus-4 blocks above average) but outside of that, is poor defensively (minus-4 runners caught stealing above average).

» READ MORE: Free-agent outlook: How the market will shape up for Ranger Suárez

Other free-agent catchers this winter include 31-year-old Danny Jansen, who had a .215 batting average and 14 home runs in 98 games with Tampa Bay and Milwaukee this year. Jansen is an elite blocker (plus-14 blocks above average) but catching runners is also a weakness (minus-3 runners caught stealing above average).

Finding a replacement closer to Realmuto’s level, then, would likely require a trade. The Orioles’ Adley Rutschman was the subject of trade rumors this year after Baltimore signed catching prospect Samuel Basallo to an eight-year extension.

Rutschman was impacted by injuries in what was a dismal year for the Orioles overall, so they would be selling low. The switch-hitting 27-year-old had a .220 batting average and .673 OPS to go with nine home runs. He had two separate stints on the injured list with oblique strains.

The road back to playoff contention is looking like a long one for the Twins after their fire sale at the trade deadline. One asset they still have is Ryan Jeffers, who is in his final season of team control. The 28-year-old right-hander hit .266 with a .752 OPS in 2025 with a 10.8% walk rate. Jeffers comes with some defensive drawbacks, however, catching runners just 18.6% of the time in 2025.

The Phillies parted with their top catching prospect, Eduardo Tait, to acquire Jhoan Duran at the trade deadline. At only 19, Tait is still a ways away from making a major league impact, but the deal certainly put a dent in the Phillies’ pipeline.

Left-handed hitter Caleb Ricketts is the Phillies’ No. 22 overall prospect by MLBPipeline. He spent 2025 primarily in double-A Reading, where he hit .275 with a .753 OPS in 65 games. Ricketts, 25, was included in the Phillies’ stay-ready camp as an emergency option for the postseason. He is Rule 5 eligible this year.

Further down the pipeline is No. 27 prospect Alirio Ferrebus, who the Phillies signed as an international free agent out of Venezuela in 2023. Ferrebus, a 20-year-old right-hander, had a .236 batting average and .656 OPS in 69 games across rookie ball and single-A.

Ferrebus’ season ended in August due to injury, but he was named to the Adelaide Giants roster for winter ball in the Australian Baseball League.