The Phillies have signed catcher Mark Kolozsvary to a minor league contract, The Athletic’s Will Sammon reports. The deal contains an invitation for Kolozsvary to attend Philadelphia’s big league spring camp.
Kolozsvary has played in only 11 Major League games, and none since the 2023 season. Rafael Marchan and Garrett Stubbs are the only other catchers in the Phillies organization with any big league playing time at all, so the 30-year-old Kolozsvary adds some experience to the depth chart. J.T. Realmuto’s continued stay in free agency remains the biggest question hanging over the Phillies’ catching situation, but given how Marchan and Stubbs also haven’t shown much at the MLB level, adding another catcher to the Spring Training backup competition was likely on the Phils’ to-do list with or without Realmuto back in the fold.
A seventh-round pick for the Reds in the 2017 draft, Kolozsvary’s time with his original team culminated in 10 MLB games and 21 plate appearances during the 2022 season. The Orioles claimed Kolozsvary off waivers from Cincinnati following the 2022 campaign, and Kolozsvary ended up making a single appearance as a late-game defensive sub during a brief stay on Baltimore’s active roster in June 2023. The O’s designated him for assignment shortly thereafter and Kolozsvary caught on with the Twins on a minor league deal, and he then spent the 2024-25 seasons playing in the Red Sox farm system.
Kolozsvary has a reputation as a very solid defensive catcher, which has helped him extend his career despite a modest .194/.309/.338 slash line over 407 plate appearances at the Triple-A level (let alone his .200/.238/.450 slash in the small sample size of his 21 PA with the Reds).
Kolozsvary has two minor league options remaining, which is a notable detail because both Marchan and Stubbs are out of options. While the Phillies avoided arbitration with Marchan and Stubbs by signing them to guaranteed salaries for the 2026 season, neither contract is expensive, and Stubbs’ deal is a split contract. This opens the door for Kolozsvary to possibly supplant Stubbs as the top depth catcher, though the Phillies’ catching mix remains fluid as long as Realmuto remains unsigned.
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I cannot wait for this name to be mangled on WIP this season.
Kolozsvary has is slowly becoming the new Ryan Lavarnway/Tim Fedorowicz; veteran journeyman Catcher that will always latch on somewhere as minor league depth. Rob Brantly might be the poster child for the AAAA Catcher though…
Dombrowski going to actually sign, or trade, for an impact player or just keep dumpster diving?
Castellanos and Bohm waiting to be dealt.
Hopefully avoid signing loser JT
Who available, would you rather have at catcher?
This isn’t dumpster diving, this is filling out the organization with bodies. You need a backup catcher in AAA, after all.
What do other clubs think of Realmuto if he can’t beat Philly’s two-year offer?
In this photo he looks like Ray Kinsella’s Dad, John. He was a catcher too for the White Sox.
If he hits 70 homers, we will come
Another way of looking at this is spring training means there are a lot of pitchers around, so you’re going to need a few catchers to go along with that.
News- Phillies sign LHP Genesis Cabrera. Hey Dumbro I thought thats why we traded Strahm. Terrible. Trade Craawford and Miller for more aging stars before theyre no good
JT can stay or go. Can’t expect every P and player to be big dollar makers. As much as I dislike Thomson im not thrilled with Dumbro. John Midd say money is the easy part this past Oct. Where’s the disconnect? Do we have too many GMs -it sure seems like it? (Fuld, Clemens, Dombro etc)
He was really good as the primary catcher on the USA Olympic baseball team in 2020.
JT who? We’ve got 3 quality catchers now, we are set baby!
This signing fills a need that will not be fulfilled by the signing of JT or trading for a top flight catcher. They wanted someone cheap to send to AAA that they could move back and forth to the majors on an emergency basis.
If they sign JT, Marchan or Stubbs will be gone since they are out of options. Preferably it would be a top flight C Prospect in that position, but we don’t have one and trading for one would be costly.
If I had to guess, at the close of Spring Training, a more seasoned AAAA catcher will be cut lose who the Phils are able to place there for emergency puposes, but any callup by said player will risk losing him if sent back down…..so this guy still retains value since their main C prospects are not AAA ….much less ML ready…even for a sip of coffee.