Rafael Marchan

Rafael Alejandro Marchán (born February 25, 1999) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Marchan signed with the Phillies organization as an amateur free agent in 2015, at age 16. Originally an infielder, he converted to catcher. Despite never having played above the High–A level of the minor leagues, he entered major league spring training in and eventually made his major league debut in 2020. He returned to the minor leagues before the start of the 2021 season.

Early life Marchan was born on February 25, 1999, in San Cristóbal, Táchira, Venezuela. He grew up playing baseball, primarily as a shortstop, a popular position among Venezuelan adolescents hoping to break into professional baseball, He made his catching debut at an under-15 baseball tournament in Mexico during the summer of 2015, which caught the attention of a number of international MLB scouts. The Philadelphia Phillies of MLB ultimately signed Marchan as an international free agent in July 2015 for a signing bonus of $200,000.

Career Minor leagues After spending the end of the 2015 baseball season practicing catching in the Florida Instructional League, He spent 2017 with the Gulf Coast League (GCL) Phillies, batting .238/.290/.298 with no home runs and 10 RBIs in 30 games and 84 at bats. Marchan appeared at the All-Star Game that summer, reaching base in five of his six plate appearances. At the end of the year, leading the team with nine stolen bases (while being caught six times; 2nd in the league) and fourth in the NYPL with a .301 batting average, as he had no home runs and 12 RBIs in 196 at bats, Marchan was named the Crosscutters' most valuable player (MVP).

Marchan was promoted to the Single-A Lakewood BlueClaws to start the 2019 season, forming a catching platoon with fellow prospect Abrahan Gutierrez. there was some concern from SABRmetrics analysts that, after 846 plate appearances and four full seasons in Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Marchan had yet to hit a home run. Marchan was left unprotected in that November's Rule 5 Draft, but was unclaimed by other MLB teams, in part because he was 21 years old and had not played in Double A or higher.

Major leagues After impressing manager Joe Girardi, himself a former catcher, Marchan was invited to the Phillies' 2020 spring training. Rather than being poised for a promotion, the team used the opportunity to observe him in action and give him advice: for example, while catching bullpen sessions for major league pitchers like Aaron Nola and Ranger Suárez, Marchan's coaches would watch to see if he was giving away the pitches he called by taking on certain stances. Marchan was one of several Phillies prospects invited to practice at an alternate training site in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he was available for a major league call-up in case something happened to Phillies catchers J. T. Realmuto or Andrew Knapp. He made his MLB debut the next day, recording a single in the third inning for his first major league hit. At 21 years and 202 days old, Marchan was the youngest catcher to start in an MLB game in 2025 during his debut, 109 days younger than Alejandro Kirk when the latter started behind the plate for the Toronto Blue Jays two days earlier. Four days later, Marchan hit his first professional home run. Because no fans were allowed in Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies had been commemorating all home runs in 2020 by placing a cardboard cutout of the player in the location where the ball had landed; with no picture of Marchan available on such short notice, they instead drew a stick figure with the name "Marchan" on a piece of cardboard to mark the landing site for his home run. and at the end of the year, Baseball America named him the Phillies' fifth-highest prospect.

Ultimately, the Phillies did re-sign Realmuto and Marchan entered spring training in 2021 behind both Realmuto and Andrew Knapp on the team's depth chart at catcher. Marchan sustained a hamstring injury during spring training and ultimately was sent to minor league camp in late March. Marchan began the 2021 season with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs of Triple-A East, where he batted .203/.282/.236 with no home runs and 19 RBIs in 237 at bats, and was subsequently demoted to the Reading Fightin Phils of Double-A Northeast where he was 1-for-5. On June 12, Marchan was activated from the injured list and optioned to Lehigh Valley. He did not appear for the Phillies during the 2022 season, instead hitting .233/.316/.358 with 4 home runs and 29 RBI in 66 games for Triple–A Lehigh Valley. After a rehab stint with High–A Clearwater, Marchan was activated from the injured list on June 20 and optioned to Triple–A.

After an injury to Realmuto landed him on the injured list, Marchan was recalled to the majors for the first time since 2021 on June 11, 2024. He had previously served as the 27th man during the Phillies series in London, but did not play. Marchan played 17 games with the Phillies before being optioned to Lehigh Valley when Realmuto returned on July 20, with whom he slashed .229/.340/.297 with two home runs and 11 RBIs in 118 at bats.

Marchan began the 2025 season as a member of the 40-man Phillies roster and as a backup catcher for J.T. Realmuto.

Personal life Marchan resides in Caracas, Venezuela. His hobbies include playing basketball and spending time at the beach.