Phillies Notes: The plan for Ranger Suárez, Zack Wheeler and why the Phillies chose Stubbs over Marchan

PITTSBURGH — The Phillies are just about back to full strength.

J.T. Realmuto was activated off the 10-day injured list and Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suárez are scheduled to make their next starts during the Minnesota series. Suárez will go Monday and Wheeler will throw Tuesday.

Realmuto is catching and batting fifth in his first game back since June 9. Rob Thomson said Suárez threw a bullpen on Saturday and it went “fantastic.”

It’s the first time since May 3 the Phillies have ran out a lineup with their preferred top five of Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm and Realmuto since May 3, when Turner suffered a hamstring tear against the Giants and missed six weeks.

Realmuto could get a few extra off days in the next two weeks, but the plan is for him to play on his normal schedule for the rest of the regular season.

Marchan put together a strong case to stay up, but the Phillies have chosen to keep Stubbs as the backup and have Marchan play every day for Lehigh Valley.

“He showed us everything we needed to see,” Thomson said Saturday pregame in Pittsburgh. “But he needs to play. He needs to be ready to play every day. We just thought that was a smart thing to do. Stubby has done a great job as well. He’s been here for a couple years and you know how important Stubby is to the clubhouse, but Marchan needs to play and that’s the number one factor.”

Marchan exceeded expectations at the plate. He slashed .294/.345/.549 with three home runs and six RBIs in 56 plate appearances during his time up the Phillies. Stubbs batted .302 in 57 plate appearances from May 25 to July 2, but he’s in an 0-for-23 slump.

If the Phillies treated the backup catcher role over the last month as a position up for grabs, the job would have went to Marchan and Stubbs would have been optioned to the minors. But the Phillies want to keep Stubbs because they value his abilities behind the scenes as both a game planner and clubhouse leader.

A healthy and productive two months in the minor leagues could pave the way for Marchan to take over next season as the full-time backup to Realmuto. He began each of the last three seasons on the injured list, starting with a hamstring issue in 2022, a hamate fracture in 2023 and a back injury in 2024.

“If he stays healthy, he’s a big league player,” Thomson said.

Phillies Notes

• Walker (right index finger inflammation) threw an up-and-down bullpen session on Saturday in Pittsburgh. The next step for him is another bullpen session tentatively scheduled for Tuesday in Minnesota.
• Michael Mercado, who was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday, will transition back to the bullpen to monitor his innings. He’s three innings away from exceeding his 2023 innings total. He threw 102 2/3 innings in Double A in 2022.

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