Dave Dombrowski announced the two players who will be joining the Phillies roster Monday when major league teams can add one pitcher and one position player to expand their roster to 28 players. The pitcher will be lefty reliever Tim Mayza, who was signed by the Phillies on Sunday as a free agent. The position player is a familiar face in the clubhouse in catcher Garrett Stubbs, who has spent the entire season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Both players, since they were on the Phillies 40-man roster before September 1st, will be eligible for the postseason.

Stubbs was optioned to Lehigh Valley just prior to the start of the season in favor of keeping catcher Rafael Marchan, who was out of options. It was assumed that if the Phillies attempted to sneak Marchan through waivers to send him to the minors that he would be claimed by another team. Stubbs had an option remaining, making him the logical one to go.

Dave Dombrowski announces that Garrett Stubbs will join the Phillies on Monday.

Stubbs took the demotion in stride and was somewhat of an additional coach for Lehigh Valley, who worked with many of the young pitchers, including Mick Abel – who was dealt to Minnesota in the Jhoan Duran deal – and Andrew Painter, the top prospect in the organization. With the IronPigs, Stubbs has played in 71 games and has hit 8 home runs with 50 RBI, producing a slash line of .265/.352/.402 at Triple-A. In 2024, Stubbs served as the backup to J.T. Realmuto and hit .207/.296/.262 with the Phillies.

The move will give the Phillies three catchers, allowing them to use Realmuto as a designated hitter to give him a day off from behind the plate while still having a catcher remaining on the bench.

On a somewhat related note, the IronPigs are victims of a somewhat ill-fated promotion. The team planned a Kody Clemens “gobblehead” giveaway for September 7th, but when Clemens left the organization earlier in the season and joined the Minnesota Twins, Stubbs became the substitute “gobblehead.” He now will not be on hand for his giveaway day. The IronPigs might have seen that coming since most teams do add a third catcher on September 1st and Stubbs was the only real choice to be that guy.