The Phillies finally gave Alex McFarlane the call on Monday, but the move comes with a frustrating catch: the hard-throwing right-hander may not be sticking around long.
That’s the uneasy reality for a club that badly needs help in the bullpen and doesn’t have much internal relief depth to lean on. Brad Keller was supposed to be part of the answer, but he struggled before tearing his ulnar collateral ligament.
Tanner Banks and José Alvarado, once reliable options, have also fallen apart this season. Outside of Jhoan Duran, and to a lesser extent Orion Kerkering and Jonathan Bowlan, the group has been thin on dependable arms.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski still has the trade deadline in front of him, but those reinforcements are not coming immediately. Most teams are expected to wait as long as possible before dealing, with the Aug. 3 deadline looming. That leaves the Phillies to patch things together with what they already have, at least for now.
McFarlane looked like a logical internal answer. The 25-year-old dominated Double-A, posting a 2.06 ERA in 35 innings while striking out 47. This is actually his second time with the big-league club after a one-day promotion in April that never turned into an appearance.
Even so, his path to staying in Philadelphia looks shaky. Beat writer Matt Gelb reported that McFarlane is up only as an “emergency arm,” and could be sent back down soon if the Phillies need to make room for another pitcher. Gelb also noted that the team could skip the No. 5 starter spot this week because of Thursday’s off day.
“It’s very, very possible the Phillies skip the No. 5 starter spot this week with Thursday’s off day. Don Mattingly wouldn’t commit either way. Alex McFarlane is here as an emergency arm in the bullpen; Phillies could swap him for another lefty later this week.”
That kind of shuffle is enough to test the patience of any fan base, especially when McFarlane is already ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects and has done everything asked of him in the minors. The question is simple: why keep him in limbo when the major-league bullpen is exactly where he might be able to help?
There is still a chance the Phillies let the outing or two decide his fate. A strong first impression could buy him more time. But for a team that has struggled to develop pitching in recent years, the possibility of another quick demotion makes this whole situation feel like a missed opportunity.
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For Philadelphia, the bigger concern is how few of those prospects look ready to matter in the near term, even with 2027 in view. The hope now is that at least one of the groups upper-tier talents can force the issue soon, because the Phillies can only lean so long on patience before the roster needs a real infusion of help. [Read more 🡒]