Phillies Cut Another Pitcher From Spring Training Roster

The Phillies reduced their active spring training roster by one more pitcher on Monday, optioning 24-year-old prospect Alex McFarlane to Double-A Reading.

McFarlane is a 6-foot-3 right-hander who spent most of last season with High-A Jersey Shore, where he posted a 4.72 ERA in 74⅓ innings, limiting hits and home runs but walking 40 batters.

McFarlane really got on a roll last summer with 15 straight scoreless innings across three starts for High-A Jersey Shore with 19 strikeouts and just three hits and walks allowed. He had a 1.13 ERA with the BlueClaws during a two-month span from late-June through late-August, starting six times and making six relief appearances before ending the season at Double-A.

Future flamethrowing reliever?

The Phillies added McFarlane to their 40-man roster in December on the same day they selected the contracts of Andrew Painter and Gabriel Rincones Jr., protecting all three from the Rule 5 draft. Painter will open the season in the Phillies' rotation. Rincones would have been in play for the final bench spot on their Opening Day roster but has been sidelined all of camp by lingering soreness/tendinitis in both knees. He still may have a chance to contribute in the majors in 2026 if he can get healthy.

McFarlane is farther away than the other two. The Phillies could give him another chance this season to prove he can start at Double-A, but they may be more inclined at this point to see how it works in relief. McFarlane hit 100 mph three times on Sunday after doing so late last season as a reliever. His final 10 appearances of 2025 came out of the bullpen, the last four with Double-A Reading in September.

The Phillies drafted McFarlane, ranked last week by MLB Pipeline as their 19th-best prospect, in the fourth round in 2022 out of the University of Miami. He was actually the Phils' third selection because they didn't have a second-round pick that year, having forfeited it the prior offseason to sign Nick Castellanos after Castellanos was extended a qualifying offer by his former team, the Reds.

The Phillies' first four picks in that draft were Justin Crawford, Rincones, McFarlane and Orion Kerkering. They also signed Otto Kemp as an undrafted free agent.

First cuts

The Phils began making their spring cuts over the weekend and probably would have made more to this point if they didn't have 11 players participating in the World Baseball Classic. Several — Edmundo Sosa from Team Panama, Garrett Stubbs and Max Lazar from Team Israel — should be back in the next 48 to 72 hours after their countries were eliminated on Monday.

The first players optioned to minor-league camp on Saturday were Rincones (AAA) and right-handers Jean Cabrera (AAA), Yoniel Curet (AA) and Moises Chace (AA). The Phillies have 60 players on their active spring training roster, 49 excluding the WBC guys.

The Phils' roster was particularly thin these last two days in Fort Myers, where they stayed overnight to face the Red Sox on Monday after playing the Twins on Sunday. Those games were started by starting pitching depth pieces Alan Rangel and Bryse Wilson.

The Phils faced one of baseball's best in Red Sox lefty Garrett Crochet but managed three runs on five hits in his 4⅔ innings, one of them a single up by the middle by left-handed-hitting Brandon Marsh.