Venezuelan C Rafael Marchan Awaits J.T. Realmuto’s Return, Hopes To Stay In Philadelphia

Photo: Carter Kieboom of the Washington Nationals slides safely past Rafael Marchan of the Philadelphia Phillies in the top of the third inning during game two of a doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park on July 29, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

PHILADELPHIA – Rafael Marchán can only wait.

The catcher will enjoy his time off during the All-Star break, but the Venezuela native knows it’s possible he’ll begin the second half of the season with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Philadelphia Phillies Triple-A team, when the club’s All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto returns from knee surgery, possibly on July 19.

“It’s part of the game, we know this is how it happens with JT coming back,” said Marchán. “(If) they send me down,” he said, he will “keep working hard, keep trying to get better everyday, ready to play in the big leagues.”

After a taste of success in the majors, could he handle being sent back to the minors?

“Yeah, for sure,” he said.

In early June, Philadelphia announced Realmuto would be out four to six weeks to have cartilage removed from his right knee. When Marchán joined the Phillies, he knew he would at least be a  backup to regular backup catcher Garrett Stubbs, and he could find some regular playing time. He did, and made a good impression. Marchán appeared in 17 games by the All-Star break, and was batting .294 with three home runs and eight RBI.

“He can really catch and throw, and he’s very intelligent, does a great job with our pitching coaches on game planning,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. “He’s very intelligent, and very poised, he can slow the game down quite a bit.”

Offensively, Thomson said the 25-year-old is different from when he briefly played for the Phillies in 2021. “The first time I saw him was three years ago …he’s much stronger, so the bat is a lot better; the power is there, he takes great at-bats. He’s a good player, he’s solid.”

Preston Mattingly, the Phillies Assistant General Manager for Player Development, said from an offensive standpoint Marchán has good bat skills, and puts together quality at-bats.

“He’s a well rounded catcher,” said Mattingly.

Since his first stretches in the majors in 2020 and 2021, Marchán said, “I think the biggest improvement was my hitting, I feel like I can be more confident in playing, feel I can do damage. Before that I would (just) try to put the ball in play.”

Thomson also is impressed with how Marchán has handled one of the best pitching staffs in baseball.

“(The pitchers) love throwing to him, always have. He game plans for them very well,” said Thomson. 

Speaking about both Stubbs and Marchán, the manager said about the pair: ”The first thing they do when they get to the ballpark they look at the lineup; if they’re catching that night they start going to work and figure out a game plan for that particular (starter), so they appreciate that. These guys set up well, they provide good targets, they block well, pitchers aren’t afraid to throw pitches in the dirt because they move so well.”

Marchán said, “It’s a big deal for me to be around the best staff in baseball right now. They’re all really easy to handle, easy to catch. They are open all the time to questions.”

Learning to call a game in the majors is more complex than in the minors, he said, “Because the hitters are way different. They adjust to every pitch, which you don’t see too often at Lehigh Valley. It throws off our plan and throws off what you call, so you have to be careful about that.”

On July 9, Thomson was asked about the possibility of keeping Marchán along with Stubbs when Realmuto returns.

“We’re a ways away from figuring that one out, I don’t know if we’d do that,” said the manager.

The Phils signed Marchán when he was 16, and he spent several seasons with the club’s Dominican Summer League squad, then began playing in the United States.

“Being around American guys, European guys,” he said, he wanted to “find a way to be open to them. To me it’s just like try to come to the ballpark and learn something from them everyday.”

He was called up briefly in 2020, and hit his first professional home run in a Phillies uniform. He still has the ball, he said.

In 2021, he appeared in 20 games with the Phillies. A hamstring injury sidelined him for much of the 2022 season.

“Last season I finished pretty well at Triple-A. I was more focused,” he said, on trying “to find that consistency that’s going to keep me in the game for a long time.” Over the winter, he appeared in 32 games with the Tigres de Aragua in Venezuela’s Liga Venezolana Beisbol Profesional, and batted .333/.436/.546 with three homers and 23 RBI.

Early in spring training, he fractured his right hamate bone. Marchán did not play until May 14, when he began a rehab with the Phillies Low-A affiliate, the Clearwater Threshers. A week later, he was sent to the IronPigs for an additional rehab, then caught regularly for the team.

He worked hard during his rehab stints, but it was frustrating being unable to play because of injuries the past few years, especially when he had a taste of the major leagues.

“It’s tough, you deal with a lot of mental stuff. You see the games and you feel like you want to be there, I feel the Phillies do a pretty good job with the mental stuff, they have guys with every (rehab) assignment, trying to help get by day by day,” he said.

He was brought up to take Realmuto’s spot on June 11. He and Stubbs alternated catching duties, and the team played better than .500 with them as backstops.

Whether he stays with the Major League club or returns to the minors when Realmuto returns, Marchán has put himself in the team’s future plans.

Based on what he’s seen, Thomson says he envisions Marchán becoming an everyday catcher in the big leagues.

Realmuto’s five-year contract concludes at the end of the 2025 season. He’ll likely re-sign, but if he does he’ll probably catch less than what he does now, and Marchán has convinced the team he can contribute by playing a significant number of games.

But he’ll have to wait until things take shape this month before any future plans are devised.