Phillies place catcher J.T. Realmuto on 10-day injured list

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 base on an error in the ninth inning, but remained in the game.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson said the injury recurred when Realmuto had to reach for a wild pitch from José Alvarado in the eighth. He is sore, but the Phillies don’t anticipate him needing longer than the 10 days.

“It’s going to be a few days before he’s pain free,” Thomson said. “So that’s why we decided to put him on the IL. It’s just some inflammation.”

Realmuto is hitting .259 with a .696 OPS, but his biggest impact on the Phillies is his game-calling ability and how he handles the pitching staff.

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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, who started Wednesday, has struggled offensively to start the season. The 27-year-old switch-hitter entered Wednesday 2-for-32 with one home run. He singled in Monday’s series opener against Chicago.

Stubbs is scheduled to start behind the plate Thursday, catching for Cristopher Sánchez, but Thomson said he hasn’t fully mapped out how he will split up the catching duties going forward.

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 to 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.

“We’ve had this in the past, and it’s time for guys to step up,” Thomson said. “And I expect that, and that’s why you have depth. And we’ve got depth. Stubby will come in here, and he’s played a lot of meaningful baseball here in Philadelphia, so I feel good about that. Our relievers are doing fine. They’re getting a little bit overworked, but they’re doing fine.”

The Phillies continued to mix up their batting order as they search for a spark offensively. On Wednesday, Kyle Schwarber found himself atop the batting order again, with Trea Turner hitting second and Bryce Harper in No. 3.

In 2024, Schwarber set an MLB record for most leadoff homers in a season when he bashed 15. But last season, Thomson opted to use the speedy Turner as a more traditional leadoff option. Schwarber spent most of the 2025 season hitting No. 2, and that’s where he’s been so far this season.

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“Just to mix it up again, split those guys up a little bit,” Thomson said. “You got all those left-handers, just trying to figure out a way to score some runs. I know we’re going to at some point, but just trying to help the process a little bit.”

Schwarber also started in left field on Wednesday against Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd, as Harper moved to designated hitter to get a day off from playing in the field. Rookie Felix Reyes batted in the cleanup spot and started at first base.

Alvarado was removed from his outing on Tuesday with a midback spasm. Thomson said he was fine on Wednesday, and threw on flat ground. Thomson planned to not use Alvarado on Wednesday to be safe. ... Sánchez (2-2, 1.59 ERA) is scheduled to start Thursday afternoon’s series finale against Chicago right-hander Edward Cabrera (2-0, 2.38 ERA).

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