The Phillies are recalling right-handed relief prospect Alex McFarlane for what would be his major league debut if he gets into a game, as first reported by Minor League News on Instagram. Matt Gelb of The Athletic adds that it could be a short stay on the major league roster for McFarlane. Righty Alan Rangel lasted only four innings yesterday and was followed by four relievers. The quintet of Phils hurlers combined for 208 pitches in a 6-1 loss to the Mets, so the team felt it necessary to plug a fresh arm into the staff.
This is the second recall of the season for McFarlane. He didn’t get into a game last time before being optioned back down. He’ll be a consideration for manager Don Mattingly tonight after Cristopher Sánchez, although Sánchez is averaging better than 6 2/3 innings per start over his past 14 trips to the hill, so the Phillies are probably hoping for a long outing to give the bullpen a breather.
McFarlane, 25, has been dominant in 35 innings at the Double-A level this season. He’s tossed 35 innings and logged a 2.06 ERA with a 32.9% strikeout rate and 50% grounder rate. His 12.6% walk rate could use some improvement, but he’s generally looked the part of a potential impact reliever. Gelb reported last week that a promotion to Triple-A was being planned in the near future, but it seems yesterday’s heavy workload for the staff will get him a more substantial promotion.
McFarlane has been a starter for much of his career since being selected by the Phils with their fourth-round pick in 2022. They moved him to the bullpen late last season, however, and have used him exclusively as a reliever this year. Beyond an enormous jump in strikeout rate (23.7% last year compared to this year’s 32.9%), he’s also seen his mid-90s sinker jump considerably, sitting better than 97 mph and reaching triple digits at times. Outlets like Baseball America, MLB.com and FanGraphs all peg him between 14th and 19th in Philadelphia’s system.
The Phillies’ bullpen took a major hit last week when Brad Keller was diagnosed with a torn UCL that’ll cost him the remainder of the current season and likely a significant portion of the 2027 season, too. Philadelphia still has one of the game’s best closers (Jhoan Duran) and a pair of solid righty setup options (Jonathan Bowlan, Orion Kerkering), but Keller had been one of the steadier arms in a top-heavy relief corps for which president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was already likely to seek upgrades. McFarlane and top prospect Gage Wood could both get genuine bullpen auditions later this summer — assuming neither is traded in the next two weeks.
Conspiracy theorists are now off the books…
Man the phils could use this bump…
It could help determine this trade deadline. Here’s to hoping this pans out.
Dude looks thrilled.
Sánchez is cooked. Phillies better trade the farm for a starting pitcher from MN named Joe Ryan.
Hardly cooked, and not even simmering in his own juices.
Trolls will troll.
Excellent move by DD. Now add Gage Wood. And keep them both on the roster. The bullpen is cooked right now. Let these young horses shine. Perhaps try a bullpen game every 5th game to try to change the trajectory of the disastrous 5th spot (Walker/Painter/Rangel) and keep pursuing deadline deals to improve the rotation, pen, and RF.
Nothing eases the strain on an overworked bullpen than running a bullpen game every 5th day. Of course, Rangel was basically a bulk reliever whether he had an opener or not…
His uncle Seth MacFarlane created Family Guy. In order to remain anonymous, Alex dropped the first “A” in his last name. True story. Or maybe not.
How do you know if Sanchez is cooked? Every picture in baseball goes through that midseason dead arm. It doesn’t usually affect velocity it usually affects command.
He will celebrate his first save with a container of Cool Hwip.
They need Bieber or Gausman. Serious serious trouble running through that staff. Nola to the bullpen or left off at least the first round of the playoffs. Assuming they make it
Big assumption.
Careful with assumptions, as you make an @$$ of you and mption.
From AA to Majors…big jump. Has the fastball, has settled in as a reliever. Not much pressure on AM is there? Hoping he fills the void!
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