Phillies place catcher J.T. Realmuto on 10-day injured list
With Realmuto suffering from back spasms, the team recalled Garrett Stubbs from triple-A Lehigh Valley.
CHICAGO — The scuffling Phillies have been dealt another blow.
Catcher J.T. Realmuto was placed on the 10-day injured list with back spasms, the Phillies announced Wednesday. Garrett Stubbs was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley to split time behind the plate with Rafael Marchán. To clear room on the 40-man roster, reliever Max Lazar (oblique) was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Realmuto, 35, missed two games with low back tightness but was back in the lineup for Tuesday’s 7-4 loss to the Cubs. He was checked out by trainers after reaching first on an error in the ninth inning, but remained in the game as a baserunner.
Realmuto is hitting .259 with a .696 OPS, but his biggest impact is his game-calling ability and how he handles the Phillies’ pitching staff.
» READ MORE: Want to fire Rob Thomson? Fine. Fire Dave Dombrowski, too. | Marcus Hayes
He caught every one of Zack Wheeler’s starts in 2025. But when the Phillies right-hander makes his season debut on Saturday in Atlanta in his first major league start since thoracic outlet decompression surgery, either Stubbs or Marchán will be behind the plate.
Marchán has struggled offensively to start the season. The 27-year-old switch-hitter enters Wednesday 2-for-32 with one home run. He singled in Monday’s series opener against Chicago.
Stubbs has a 1.045 OPS in 10 games at triple A. In addition to catching, he has made two starts at third base and two starts in left field. During spring training, the Phillies started giving Stubbs more reps at other defensive positions to try and develop him into a utility option.
Realmuto’s injury is the latest setback for a team that entered Wednesday on a seven-game slide. He joins pitchers Jhoan Duran (oblique), Zach Pop (calf), and Jonathan Bowlan (groin) on the injured list.
Extra bases
Cristopher Sánchez (2-2,1.59 ERA) is scheduled to start Thursday’s series finale against Chicago right-hander Edward Cabrera (2-0, 2.38 ERA).
In Trea Turner and Justin Crawford, the Phillies have two of baseball's fastest players at the top and bottom of their batting order. It's a baserunning coach's dream. Paco Figueroa sat down with "Phillies Extra" to discuss his philosophy on baserunning and how the Phillies might be able to leverage the elite speed of Turner and Crawford to boost an offense that has struggled to score runs early in the season. Watch here.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Previous episodes: Gage Wood | Scott Boras | Brian Barber | Aaron Nola | Justin Crawford | Garrett Stubbs | Kyle Schwarber | Brad Keller | J.T.Realmuto | Orion Kerkering