Phillies' catcher Garrett Stubbs optioned to Lehigh Valley, Rafael Marchan to back up J.T. Realmuto
The Philadelphia Phillies sent backup catcher Garrett Stubbs to the minor leagues on Thursday, which means that Rafael Marchan will back up J.T. Realmuto to start the season.
The team announced the news in a post on X.
"It's not the first time I've ever been sent down, obviously it's the first time in the last three or four years," Stubbs said. "So getting the tap on the shoulder again is not a good feeling."
He said he will spend his time in Triple-A staying prepared and continuing to work to be able to contribute to the major league club — and help prepare other minor-league ballplayers for when they might get called up.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Stubbs "has been a really important part of our ball club, and I think he will [be] again before the end of this season."
"It's one of the tougher parts of the job, because he's been important for us. He's a quality individual, he's worked hard. There's nothing wrong that he did. It's really the business side of the game," Dombrowski added.
Stubbs, 31, established himself as some kind of folk hero among Phillies fans in the 2022 season. Stubbs became the Phillies' de-facto DJ over the years and popularized Calum Scott's Tiesto remix cover of Robyn's "Dancing on My Own," which became the team's anthem.
The Phillies' first regular-season game is a week away. The home opener is March 31.
