The Philadelphia Phillies were handed another blow in what has become a hellish first month of the season.
J.T. Realmuto was placed on the 10-day IL on Wednesday according to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb. Realmuto, exited Saturday’s game against the Braves due to lower back tightness that was a result from a play at the plate on Friday according to Rob Thomson.
The 35-year-old backstop took the last two games off before playing in Tuesday night’s 7-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs. However, the back injury remains to be a problem and now the Phillies, who have dropped seven in a row, the longest losing streak since 2019, will be without one of their expected key bats.
The catcher was one of the only right-handed hitters that has produced so far during this woeful start to the season slashing .259/.344/.352 in 61 plate appearances.
Garrett Stubbs will be promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to split time with Rafael Marchan who is off to a 2-for-31 start (.065).
Stubbs was hitting well with Lehigh Valley hitting .289 with a 1.045 OPS in 38 at-bats with the IronPigs. He was DFA’d prior to the start of the season, ultimately clearing waivers and outrighted to Triple-A.
The 31-year-old spent most of his tenure with the club as a backup option to Realmuto from 2022-24. Across 197 big-league games, Stubbs is a career .215 hitter with seven home runs and 45 RBIs.
The Phillies will need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move to make space for the incoming catcher.
