Houston Astros
Stubbs was drafted as a catcher by the Houston Astros in the 10th round (316th overall) of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft,and signed with the team on June 12,2019. [4] [6] In 2019 he played for the Low-A Tri-City ValleyCats in the New York-Pennsylvania League,batting .213/.327/.386;he also played for the Single-A Quad Cities River Bandits in the Midwest League,batting .328/.371/.621,playing catcher,first base,and corner outfield for the two affiliates. [8] Stubbs did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [10]
Stubbs returned to action in 2021 with the Asheville Tourists of the High-A East and the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Double-A Central,batting a combined .220/.297/.398,playing primarily catcher and first base. [8] In 2022,he again played for Asheville and Corpus Christi,batting a combined .214/.335/.487 in 271 at-bats with 21 home runs and 14 stolen bases in 16 attempts,playing primarily catcher and first base. [8]
Stubbs spent the majority of the 2023 season with Corpus Christi,also appearing in one game for the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys;in 95 appearances for the Hooks,he batted .196/.314/.380 with 14 home runs,33 RBI,and 15 stolen bases. [11] He began the 2024 season with Corpus Christi and Sugar Land,but experienced offensive struggles with both affiliates. Stubbs was released by the Astros organization on May 7,2024. [4]
Washington Nationals
On May 14,2024,Stubbs signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals organization. [12] [4] He spent the remainder of the season with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators in the Eastern League,batting .207/.327/.368,and for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings in the International League,batting .273/.500/.545. Stubbs played 42 games at catcher (throwing out 39% of attempted basestealers) and 12 games at first base between the two teams. [8] He elected free agency following the season on November 4,but re-signed with Washington on a new minor league contract on November 28. [13]
During the 2025 season,Stubbs played for Harrisburg and Rochester again,and between the two affiliates he was batting a combined .148/.279/.240,and had played 53 games at catcher (throwing out 37% of attempted base stealers;second-best in the Nationals organization),seven games as a designated hitter,and three games at first base when the Nationals called him up to the major leagues on August 29,2025. [8] [14] [15]
Stubbs made his MLB debut on the afternoon of September 1,2025,starting against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park in Washington,D.C. [16] Nationals starting pitcher Andrew Alvarez also made his major league debut that day,making Stubbs and Alvarez the first battery-mates to make their MLB debuts together since 2023,and the first Nationals catcher and pitcher to do so since 2008. [16] Known for his strong defense,Stubbs caught a shutout,becoming the first Nationals catcher to catch a shutout in his major league debut,and the first major league catcher since Sean Murphy of the Oakland A's in 2019 to catch a shutout in his MLB debut. [17] [18] [19] The Nationals optioned Stubbs to Rochester the next day,following the signing of Jorge Alfaro. [20] On October 29,Stubbs was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Rochester. [21] He elected free agency on November 6. [22]
