The Philadelphia Phillies have added three prospects to their 40-man roster in Andrew Painter, Gabriel Rincones Jr., and Alex McFarlane, protecting them from next month’s Rule 5 draft.
Not surprisingly, the Phillies added their prized pitching prospect to the 40-man roster, with Painter expected to be in the running for a spot in the starting rotation for the 2026 season. The organization’s top prospect finished his first full season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. At times this season, the righty flashed his impressive arsenal, showing why he is regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball. However, he struggled with command, as is common for pitchers coming back from Tommy John, finishing the season with a 5.26 ERA in 118 innings between Low-A Clearwater and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He racked up 123 strikeouts while walking 47.
Rincones Jr. also had his contract selected by the Phillies to protect him from being eligible for the Rule 5 draft. The outfielder turned heads and put himself on the radar with an impressive Spring Training displaying his power, but struggled at times at the plate in his first year in Triple-A, particularly against left-handed pitchers, where he slashed .107/.215/.107 in 65 plate appearances. The 24-year-old did close out the season relatively strong, hitting .327 in August with a 1.115 OPS and .276 with an .863 OPS across the final 32 games of the regular season.
He finished the season with 18 homers and 73 RBIs to go along with a .799 OPS and is currently ranked the ninth-best prospect in the system per MLB Pipeline.
McFarlane, 24, also returned to the mound for the first time since having Tommy John surgery in 2023, spending this past season at High-A Jersey Shore before closing out the year in Double-A Reading. After primarily being a starter at his first stop, where he posted a 4.72 ERA in 74⅓ innings, averaging a punchout per inning, he made four relief appearances in Double-A. With his ability to generate swings and misses with an arsenal that features a fastball that touches triple digits and grades out at a 70 to go along with a slider and changeup, another team certainly would have taken a flier on the 2022 fourth-round pick.
The current roster now sits at 33 players.
