Phillies Call Up McFarlane for Debut

0:00It's April 24th, welcome to MLB News Today, powered by AI, I'm Corey with the story. The Phillies just called up right-hander Alex McFarlane from AA Reading for his big league debut. This move fills a roster spot after they release Taj I Walker, optioned Alan Rangel and brought back Nolan Hoffman. At 25 years old this June, McFarlane's ready to pitch whenever manager Rob Thompson needs him. McFarlane was a fourth-round pick back in 2022. He struggled as a starter in the minors, then had Tommy John's surgery late in 2023, sitting out all of 2024. The Phillies shifted him to relief late last year, and they protected him on the 40-man roster to avoid the Rule 5 draft. Prospect List had him around number 14 to 19 in the system, praising his slider spin. He ditched the splitter for more fastball slider work as a reliever. This season at AA in just 6-1-3rd innings, he's allowed one-earned run, fan 10, but walked four with two wild pitches.

1:00The Phillies bullpins beat up from eight games in 10 days without rest. Starters having gone deep lately, and yesterday's ten inning loss to the Cubs used five relievers. McFarlane brings a fresh arm tonight against the Cubs. With Zach Wheeler set to return, Saturday from the injured list, expect McFarlane stayed to be short. He might head right back to Reading, or move up to Triple A Lehigh Valley, keeping options open for the stretch run.