Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 60 | Run: 35 | Arm: 60 | Field: 45 | Overall: 55

Tait’s professional journey began when he signed with the Phillies out of Panama for only $90,000 in January 2023. A .917 OPS during his debut in the Dominican Summer League had some in Philadelphia dreaming of a Carlos Ruiz-type path to the big leagues, and he did nothing to dampen excitement by hitting .302 with an OPS of .842 while reaching full-season ball in 2024. Tait played his way from Single-A to High-A at age 18 and played in the Futures Game before being sent to the Twins in the Jhoan Duran Deadline deal, and he finished the year with a playoff run in the High-A Midwest League.

A left-handed hitter with impressive contact skills, Tait’s ability to put the ball in play is both his key strength and weakness at the plate. He’s very capable of huge exit velocities and has shown the ability to drive the ball to all fields for extra bases, though most of his over-the-fence pop comes to his pull side. But Tait is so good at putting bat to ball that he chases too much (41 percent rate in 2025) and rarely walks. 

Tait will still be just 19 years old for the bulk of the 2026 season, with plenty of time to round out his game on both sides of the ball. He has plenty of arm strength and appears to be moving in the right direction with his receiving and blocking. It might never be a plus tool, but he’s shown enough progress to give confidence he can stick behind the plate. 

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Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 60 | Run: 40 | Arm: 60 | Field: 45 | Overall: 55

The Phillies have had some success in finding catchers in Panama at bargain prices. They got Carlos Ruiz for $8,000 back in 1999, and he helped them win a World Series less than a decade later. In January 2023, they spent $90,000 to sign Tait out of Panama, and the early returns have been very encouraging. The young catcher raked in the Dominican Summer League after signing, then played his way from the Florida Complex League to full-season ball before he turned 18 during his first trip to the United States in 2024. He went to the All-Star Futures Game in 2025 and had recently been bumped from Single-A Clearwater to High-A Jersey Shore when he was sent along with Mick Abel to the Twins in the Jhoan Duran Trade Deadline deal.

A left-handed-hitting backstop, Tait has already displayed some impressive hitting traits. He finds the barrel consistently and makes a lot of hard contact. He’s capable of driving the ball to all fields and can hit the ball out everywhere, showing good power for such a young age. Like many young hitters with pop, he can get a little pull happy at times but should be able to learn to trust his natural strength and bat speed as he progresses.

While Tait’s overall defensive game is a work in progress, there's reason to believe he’s headed in the right direction after showing a lot of improvement behind the dish last year. He sets up well and his receiving has gotten better to the point where they think he could be an average defender in the future, pairing nicely with his plus arm. If that keeps trending in that direction, Tait should have no problem being a big league regular catcher in the future.

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 60 | Field: 45 | Overall: 50

Back in 1999, scout Sal Agostenelli signed catcher Carlos Ruiz out of Panama for just $8,000 and he went on to be a huge part of the Phillies’ 2008 World Series championship team. Philadelphia wants history to repeat itself with Tait, also signed out of Panama, in January 2023 for $90,000. After posting a .917 OPS during his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League, the Phillies are hoping they might have Chooch 2.0 on their hands.

Tait will be just 17 for most of his U.S. debut in 2024 and already checks off one big box as a left-handed-hitting catcher. He has a good feel for the barrel and makes hard contact, leading to confidence he’ll be able to have a solid hit-power combination as he matures and continues to add strength, with the chance to eventually develop better-than-average power down the road. 

Behind the plate, Tait’s best tool is his arm, which could be plus and enabled him to throw out 44 percent of potential basestealers during his debut. The rest of his receiving skills need polish, but he should be able to play there long term, giving him the opportunity to eventually become a bat-first starting catcher in the big leagues. 

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 60 | Field: 45 | Overall: 40

Staryln Caba may have been the star of the Phillies’ haul on the international market in 2023, getting $3 million to join the organization. But he’s not alone among position players making an early name for themselves from the signing class. Tait got just $90,000 to sign out of Panama and if early returns in the Dominican Summer League are any indication, they may have gotten a huge bargain.

Still only 16 years old for most of his debut summer, Tait is a left-handed-hitting catcher who is already showing a good feel to hit and making consistent hard contact. He’s also exhibiting an ability to tap into his plus raw power now, and as he’s already adding strength, there’s a chance he could develop into a true impact hitter.

Tait has more work to do behind the plate, though the Phillies like the way he sets up there and have confidence he’ll be able to stick there, especially since his plus arm plays very well from the position. He’ll come stateside for his United States debut in 2024.

Awards

Baseball America Rookie All-Star

Year	Team
2024

FCL Post-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2024

FCL Player of the Month

Month	Team
06/2024

DSL Mid-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2023

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	08/01/2025	Cedar Rapids Kernels activated C Eduardo Tait.
	07/31/2025	C Eduardo Tait assigned to Cedar Rapids Kernels.
	07/30/2025	Minnesota Twins traded RHP Jhoan Duran to Philadelphia Phillies for C Eduardo Tait and RHP Mick Abel.
	07/22/2025	C Eduardo Tait assigned to Jersey Shore BlueClaws from Clearwater Threshers.
	07/18/2025	Clearwater Threshers activated C Eduardo Tait.
	07/11/2025	National League Futures activated C Eduardo Tait.
	07/11/2025	Clearwater Threshers transferred C Eduardo Tait to the Development List.
	03/07/2025	C Eduardo Tait assigned to Philadelphia Phillies.
	03/06/2025	activated C Eduardo Tait.
	07/23/2024	C Eduardo Tait assigned to Clearwater Threshers from FCL Phillies.
	04/01/2024	C Eduardo Tait assigned to FCL Phillies from DSL Phillies White.
	03/07/2024	Philadelphia Phillies Prospects activated C Eduardo Tait.
	08/10/2023	C Eduardo Tait assigned to DSL Phillies White from DSL Phillies Red.
	07/29/2023	DSL NL All-Stars activated C Eduardo Tait.
	06/05/2023	C Eduardo Tait assigned to DSL Phillies Red.
	01/15/2023	Philadelphia Phillies signed free agent C Eduardo Tait to a minor league contract.
	01/15/2023	C Eduardo Tait assigned to DSL Phillies White.
	01/15/2023	DSL Phillies White activated C Eduardo Tait.
	09/08/2022	IF Eduardo Tait assigned to International Team (18U).
	09/08/2022	International Team (18U) activated C Eduardo Tait.
	09/08/2022	International Team (18U) activated C Eduardo Tait.