Aug 24, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Tanner Banks (58) walks off the field the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
People love arbitrary ranking lists these days.
So, if someone were tasked with making a ranking of the most important Phillies based on who is currently on the roster from No. 1 to No. 26, while there may be much debate along the way, there is no doubt who would be No. 26 - Rafael Marchan.
Yes, the backup catcher would be last behind even bullpen guys like Joe Ross and Jordan Romano - who have been reduced to pitching either when the team needs innings in a blowout one way or the other, or in case of emergency.
That's because when you have a guy like J.T. Realmuto starting five of out six games in a week, or, as the Phillies are swinging it thanks to the off day last Thursday, eight out of nine games (all three vs, Seattle, two vs. Washington and the plan is for all three against the Mets) then the backup catcher is being asked to play once every 10 days or so.
It's a tough gig, but somebody has to do it. Ask Garrett Stubbs. He was that guy for three years and earned the nickname "Day Games" because it seemed like that was the only time he was in the lineup.
Marchan is in the midst of his first full season in the majors. Both he and Realmuto have been healthy to this point. Both have an injury history but neither have needed to miss time.
On Sunday, Marchan started for just the 24th time this season in the Phillies 3-2 win over Washington. By comparison, the Phillies have two starting pitchers - Jesus Luzardo and Cristopher Sanchez - who have started more games than Marchan and one - Zack Wheeler - who has the same amount of starts - and those guys pitch every fifth day.
But the Phillies don't win that game Sunday without Marchan.
Nor do they win that game without Tanner Banks, and unheralded lefty reliever who, on that imaginary rankings list, while he wouldn't be next-to-last ahead of Marchan, he would probably hover somewhere around No. 20.
Which is why, when there was a media request to speak to him after the game he was genuinely surprised. And as he stepped to the spot in the clubhouse where many post game interviews occur in front of the sponsored step-and-repeat Phillies background, Banks kicked off his interview by telling the assembled media, "This is my first time in front of this screen."
Tanner Banks was excited for his first time speaking in front of the backdrop in the clubhouse. 😂 pic.twitter.com/vd1MLXchQv
But in baseball, good teams get contributions from everywhere. and on a day where the usual suspects were varying degrees of mostly unproductive, there were Marchan and Banks filling the void.
Sure, Ranger Suarez striking out a career high 11 batters and pitching seven scoreless innings was probably the most important aspect of the win that gave the Phillies a seven-game cushion in the NL East with just 32 games to play as they head into what at one time was thought to be a critical three-game series in New York against the Mets, but it was Marchan who provided all the offense and when things got especially hairy after Suarez left the game, it was Banks who saved the day.
With Jhoan Duran down after pitching both Friday and Saturday night, Orion Kerkering was used to close out Sunday's game. He may have technically earned the save in the ninth inning, but it was Banks who was the true fireman an inning earlier.
With the Phillies up 3-0 entering the eighth inning, they turned to Jose Alvarado. But he couldn't find the strike zone, and after the first three batters of the inning reached base against him via a single and a pair of walks, manager Rob Thomson wasn't about to let the inning implode around Alvarado.
He quickly pulled him from the game and handed the ball to Banks, who was coming into one of the stickiest spots a reliever can be asked to come into - bases loaded, no outs, and asked to protect a lead. The only way it could have been stickier would be if the lead were smaller, but three runs - that was tight enough.
Banks was facing the two best hitters on the Nationals too - James Wood and C.J. Abrams.
He got Wood to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play and Abrams to hit a can of corn to centerfield. Only one inherited runner scored. It was the most important part of the game and Banks delivered - as he has many other times this season under the radar.
"He's been a Godsend for us," manager Rob Thomson said.
And it's true. He has.
Among left-handed relievers in baseball, Banks is tied for 18th across the sport in fWAR (0.7). Against lefties, specifically - which both Wood and Abrams are - Banks has an an OPS against of .442 - that ranks in the top 10 across the sport.
"Being able to throw pitches that move in and out - being able to throw a sinker as well as maybe like a cutter or a slider ... having an extra weapon on top of the sinker ... having a couple of pitches that move in and a couple of pitches that move away. So, you're not giving them the same look over and over of away, away, away breaking away, away, away,"
Pretty great stuff from Tanner Banks on this answer: “Everyone is pulling from the same end of the rope.” pic.twitter.com/s6YzWJCI8t
For the first time in his career, finally at age 33, Banks is becoming a real contributor to a real contender at the Major League level and is having the best season of his career.
It's a heck of a story. He toiled in the minors for the better part of a decade. Then he debuted for a Chicago White Sox team headed nowhere in 2022. He was an unheralded trade deadline acquisition by Dave Dombrowski in 2024. But as Dombrowski is wont to do at a deadline, he looks to add quality over quantity, and while Banks wasn't an impact arm in 2024, he did have team control beyond last season, and imagine where the Phillies bullpen would be without him this year.
And even though he's older, he still doesn't qualify as a free agent until 2029, so the Phillies can hold onto that control into the future.
As for Marchan, he had a two-run double and worked a bases loaded walk to account for all three Phillies runs. Considering how little he plays and how few chances he has to be productive, any offense he provides is a bonus.
Rafael Marchan 2 out, 2 RBI double❗️ #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/f8Dnds3Kdv
He has a grand total of seven RBIs this season. Three came on Sunday.
"He does a lot of cage work on offense and it's tough for him because he's a switch hitter, so he has to do extra work from both sides," Thomson said about how Marchan stays fresh with so little actual playing time. "He does a lot of work with the catching coaches and he studies a lot. He was in his locker [Saturday] when he wasn't catching and working a gameplan for [Saturday's] game even though he wasn't catching. That's how tuned in he is.
"Part of it is just natural and part of it is that J.T. has kind of groomed him a little bit. So it's really good. He had a big day today - all three of our RBIs, a couple of key blocks behind the plate - and people don't like to run on him because they know he can throw."
Marchan said his mentality is to prepare like he's a regular, even though he knows most days he's not going to play. It keeps his mind sharp and prepared for when it is his turn, no matter how infrequent it might be.
"I treat every day that I don't play as a game like I am playing," Marchan said. "If I'm in the dugout I try to follow the sequence and see what each hitter does, that way I can be ready just in case something happens and I have to be able to catch and call the game."
As for the offense, while there isn't much of it, Marchan does have the knack for providing it from time to time. Last year when Realmuto was hurt, he stepped in nicely and gave the offense some punch with a few long balls.
On Sunday, he was just looking for a pitch in his happy zone to drive with runners on base and got it.
"I was ready for my pitch," he said. I was just waiting for the pitcher to come into my comfort zone. I stayed aggressive. I knew I had runners on base and just wanted a good pitch to hit, and I found it."
Good teams win games sometimes because they have guys toward the bottom of their active roster - like Marchan and Banks - who can find it in key moments.
And the Phillies needed that to win a game on Sunday.
