The Philadelphia Phillies have a lot of problems, but perhaps chief among them is a porous bullpen. They don’t have a single trustworthy reliever aside from Jhoan Duran, and they should be exploring all of their options to improve the relief corps. If that’s the case, why are they playing games with red-hot prospect Alex McFarlane?
The Phillies selected McFarlane out of the University of Miami in the fourth round of the 2022 draft and he struggled as a starting pitcher in his first two years of affiliated ball. Tommy John surgery wiped out his entire 2024 campaign, and it looked as though the U.S. Virgin Islands native could be cooked. However, upon returning last year, the Phillies switched him to a relief role and it’s been paying off in spades this season.
McFarlane has spent the 2026 season in Double-A (aside from a one-day stint with the parent club in which he didn’t appear in a game) and has torched opposing hitters to the tune of a 2.12 ERA across 34 innings. The right-hander has piled up 45 strikeouts and 12 saves in that span (although walks remain an issue, as he’s yielded 18 of them).
Frankly, McFarlane has nothing left to prove in Reading. His ability to mow down hitters in high-leverage situations has at the very least earned him a promotion to Triple-A, if not straight to the majors. Speaking of, the major league bullpen has been a dumpster fire lately, with free agent acquisition Brad Keller struggling with injuries and the entire left-handed group faceplanting at the same time.
Promoting the dominant Alex McFarlane to the majors could end up being the worst option for the Phillies
So why haven’t the Phillies given McFarlane the chance to prove himself at the major league level? One prevailing theory is that they’re holding him down in order to preserve his trade value.
If the Phillies aren’t going to call-up Alex McFarlane, they should trade him for someone who can pitch out of the Phillies bullpen tomorrow.
— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) July 11, 2026
The trade deadline is just a few weeks away, and the Phils have multiple holes that need to be filled. Unfortunately, they don’t have much in the way of prospects to give up. Considering they could use a late-inning reliever, reliable starting pitcher and quality right-handed bat, they’re looking at trading away a lot.
Years of poor drafting and even worse development have led to a dearth of exciting prospects in the Phillies’ system, and McFarlane may be one of the more enticing pieces they could deal. As nice as it would be to have him pumping 100 mile per hour gas out of the big league bullpen, McFarlane’s most effective use for the Phillies might be in a trade package to reel in an established player.
The problem for the Phillies is that relievers are inherently volatile, and if they call McFarlane up to the majors now, he could get lit up and tank his trade value. Would it be fair to judge a 25-year-old off of his first few games in the big leagues? No, but a rough debut could give rival teams just enough pause to think twice about acquiring him.
As a result, McFarlane may be left to languish with the Fightin Phils for a little while longer. From the Phillies’ perspective, it’s better to let him play with his food at Double-A and keep his trade value high than test him at a higher level and risk tanking his stock.
The next few weeks should tell fans a lot about Alex McFarlane’s future with the Phillies. If he ends up traded away to help the major league club, they’ll thank him for his service. If not, there will be no reason to keep holding him down. Either way, Alex McFarlane is one of the most important players in the Phillies’ organization at the moment.
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