The Philadelphia Phillies entered the offseason with question marks regarding who will back up starting catcher J.T. Realmuto during the 2025 season. Following a mixed 2024 campaign in which Realmuto spent considerable time on the IL recovering from knee surgery, the Phillies want to lighten the workload on the three-time All-Star heading into the last season of the five-year, $115.5 million deal he signed in 2021. With extension talks between the Phillies and Realmuto seemingly non-existent, it’s beginning to look more likely we’ll see a new face donning the catcher’s gear for the Phillies in 2026.
Replacing Realmuto’s bat in the lineup presents challenges, and the Phillies front office knows as much, evidenced by the team re-signing longtime backup catcher Garrett Stubbs to a split contract at the non-tender deadline in November. With former top prospect Rafael Marchán reestablishing his value following an impressive 17-game stint last summer that saw him bat .294 in 51 at-bats, the pressure will be on Stubbs to win back his roster spot with a solid showing in spring training next month.
While the position battle between Stubbs and Marchán is one of the major storylines to follow in spring training, Phillies top catching prospect Eduardo Tait has been flat-out raking since signing as an international free agent in 2022.
While Stubbs and Marchán are likely to get plenty of playing time in 2025 and 2026, the Phillies’ No. 4 ranked prospect Eduardo Tait is coming off a remarkable first season stateside in the lower minor league levels. The talented 18-year-old backstop had little trouble establishing himself as a catching prospect with a high offensive ceiling, batting .302 with 87 hits, 11 home runs, and 73 RBI in 288 at-bats split between Single-A Clearwater and FCL play in 2024.
The hype train didn’t stop there, as Tait recently took home a batting title after hitting .386 in Panamanian Winter League play. The left-handed hitter has shown the promise of becoming an impact bat at the MLB level, with his raw power on full display this past summer when he launched a 440-foot home run to deep center field with a reported exit velocity of 104.8 mph following his promotion to Clearwater.
With Realmuto’s future with the Phillies still uncertain, Tait’s progress since entering professional baseball is a lottery ticket the Phillies front office will hope pays off in the not-so-distant future. Likely to spend his 2025 season split between Clearwater and High-A Jersey Shore, Tait remains a work in progress by all reasonable projections. But if Tait continues to hit, it’s not unreasonable to think that the talented youngster could climb up the minor league ranks quickly just like fellow Phillies top prospects Aiden Miller (No. 1) and Justin Crawford (No. 3) have done in recent years.
