It’s not going to be as flashy as the Juan Soto sweepstakes, but a position the Phillies really need to address, one way or another, this offseason is backup catcher. J.T. Realmuto will be 34 on Opening Day, and as his age has gone up, his numbers — including games played — have gone down. There’s no reason to believe that trend won’t continue, particularly for a catcher.
It gives the team a very good reason to fortify the position behind him.
Garrett Stubbs has been the Phillies’ backup catcher the last three seasons, and while he’s been an integral part of the clubhouse in that span, his production hasn’t been there, especially after a career-best 2022 season. It feels as though the rubber will meet the road this offseason and the team will try to upgrade.
One option may have just emerged from within the division, and it comes in the form of someone whose role in Phillies history is already larger than might be remembered. Travis d’Arnaud, part of the trade that netted Roy Halladay in the 2009 offseason, had his club option declined by the Atlanta Braves on Monday. He’s a free agent.
d’Arnaud had been a thorn in the Phillies’ side, as well as a frequent postseason contributor, during his five-year Braves tenure. He played 99 games last season (the same number as Realmuto) with comparable offensive output, slashing .238/.302/.436 with 15 homers. He threw out 19.1% of would-be base stealers, right on par with Realmuto, and was the better blocker and framer.
Once Sean Murphy returned from the injured list in late May, d’Arnaud operated as the backup in Atlanta, but he played much more than a typical backup catcher does, starting 46 games to Murphy’s 66. The pseudo-backup role is one he’s occupied the last two seasons.
The club option the Braves declined was for $8 million, which is admittedly a hefty price for a backup. d’Arnaud is likely looking to land a starting job this offseason, so if the Phillies want to make him their backup, they might have an uphill battle.
But they faced the same predicament last offseason with Whit Merrifield — yes, we know how that worked out — and managed to get it done. Merrifield was seeking a starting job, and the Phillies weren’t able to guarantee him a permanent one, so they made up the difference by giving him an $8 million contract he might not have been able to get elsewhere.
Perhaps they could approach d’Arnaud’s market the same way, while promising him a backup-plus role similar to what he had in Atlanta. It would give the Phillies someone who can hold his own offensively when Realmuto needs a day off, and he’s someone the club can comfortably slot in for 65 or 70 games to keep Realmuto fresh in his final season under contract in Philadelphia.
Should Realmuto miss time, d’Arnaud is more than a capable everyday starter in his place. It also gives the Phillies a right-handed threat off the bench, regardless of whether d’Arnaud or Realmuto is in the starting lineup on a given day. The former had a .922 OPS against left-handed pitching last season.
One case against d’Arnaud is that the Phillies may have their backup catcher solution internally, with Rafael Marchan. A plus defensive catcher, Marchan hit a surprising .294/.345/.549 in his lone stint with the Phillies this season. But outside of that 17-game stretch from mid-June to mid-July, Marchan’s offensive track record is iffy. He had a .637 OPS in 141 plate appearances at Triple-A last season; his .831 clip with Lehigh Valley two years ago is really his only period of prolonged production at the plate in the upper levels.
He also has a lengthy injury history, and when the primary goal of strengthening the backup spot is to get Realmuto off his feet, perhaps the Phillies should want more reliability there. d’Arnaud will turn 36 around the time that pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, which doesn’t exactly make him the epitome of reliability, particularly as a catcher — but he’s been quite healthy the last several seasons, so there’s reason to believe he could remain so for another, especially if he’s not a full-time starter.
Again, it won’t generate the headlines that a Soto pursuit will, even if that pursuit is relatively limited in scope. But catcher is a spot the Phillies need to think about this winter. It would be foolish not to think about how d’Arnaud could fit in.
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