Phillies 2026 News and Discussion

[David_Criss]

No surprise here Rangel optioned. Guess he will be recalled for one more spot start before the deadline and can stay on his regular rest and start schedule. Where have you gone Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick - the fifth starters that just keep the team in the game.

[andyb]

Off day this week so I think they can skip the 5th starter spot till the 28th if they want to. Or they can bring Keller up. They have not made the other Keller 60-day move so they have a roster spot if needed.

Note Rangel can't be recalled without an injury so it won't be him most likely.

[zambonir]

No surprise here Rangel optioned. Guess he will be recalled for one more spot start before the deadline and can stay on his regular rest and start schedule. Where have you gone Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick - the fifth starters that just keep the team in the game.

So long ago that Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick's kids could be pitching in MLB soon. But imagine what the 5th starters must look like on the bad teams? Or the #2 starters, for that matter. It's not that our guys are really that much worse than the Bailey Falters or Ben Livelys (or Taijuan Walkers or Kolby Allards) of years past, but that the top three is so good. And I bet a lot of guys who would have been solid fourth starters 20 years ago are relievers now too.

But then, of course, there's the Dodgers, who can shut Ohtani down for the rest of the season if they want, and also have both Snell and Glasnow on the 60, and will get by easily for the rest of the summer and then roll out a bunch of fresh arms in October.

[Austinfan]

One problem is you can't promote pitchers from AA b/c different baseballs, they need time in AAA to get used to throwing the ML ball. So promotion to Lehigh would be a signal they think McFarlane can help this season.

[zambonir]

Well, except for the part where they just did promote him from AA. If he pitches it will be such a low-leverage spot that the new ball will just be part of the learning curve.

Kerkering also had just one AAA inning before he joined the Phillies in 2023. He got three innings to get used to that ball and MLB hitters at the same time before the playoffs.

[Matt_Winkelman]

The intention was not promote McFarlane to the majors. My understanding is they intended to promote him to AAA and then yesterday's circumstances led them to wanting a fresh arm who was available today and tomorrow. Whether they need time with the different ball is personal and pitcher related. Does it affect how they grip the ball and how their pitches move? That is going to be nuanced for different players based on physical and mental factors.

[zambonir]

Okay this is the part where you have to expand on your Bsky comment about the arms they aren't willing to use who are taking up 40-man space (unless you already did it there since I looked last).

[andyb]

There has also been some talk about the minor league baseballs changing this year as evidence behind the offensive explosion in every level below AAA. The specs are generally the same but they are manufactured in China to save money. It would seem very possible that the manufacturing changed this year to make them closer to the major league ball. The specs have a wide enough range where that is very possible.

Remember someone like McFarlane has pitched in Spring Training so it is not as if he has not played (and practiced) with the actual major league ball.

[Deadgmwalking]

I really need someone to explain this to me like I'm 5.

From what I'm reading, bulk ball costs:

MLB ~$160/dozen
MILB ~$132/dozen

An average game uses like 70 balls per and the rejected game used balls are for BP and such. Let's say 30,000 baseballs in a season for games, BP, bullpens, and workouts. Saving $4 per ball amounts to $120,000 per affiliate.

Across (after the '21 reorganization) 120 affiliated minor league teams, that's 15 million per year, or $500,000 per parent organization. One MLB minimum contract is what, $750,000 or thereabouts?

How the hell is that "savings" worth not evaluating every pitcher's grip/break with a MLB ball?

[Matt_Winkelman]

Using a 40 man spot on BDLC and not using him, never using Hoffman is just bad use of roster spots. I also didn't realize Holman's velocity has been up since returning from injury. After talking about this in some places, I think it is obvious Backhus is eligible to be back on Wednesday and they didn't want to use Hoffman or Holman for two days and then restart their cooldown

[andyb]

Here is a BA article discussing it.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/home-runs-are-exploding-across-the-minor-leagues-and-no-one-knows-why/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWe%20have%20confirmed%20with%20Rawlings,in%20runs%20and%20home%20runs.

I think there is a manufacturing capacity question here with the cheaper baseballs being made in China. But also they could just have improved the manufacturing process so there is less variation. Minor league balls have always been a bit softer which might be material driven as well. These changes are also not occurring in AAA so that is a clear indication it is the baseballs.

There has also been some changes in the drag coefficient on the major league ball this year that in certain months has them carrying further. Bryce talked about this in the home run derby in reference to those baseballs. I don't think MLB is intentionally changing anything, but clearly there are ranges in the manufacturing specs that causes these variations to happen. MLB is just too embarrassed to admit that they have lax manufacturing standards. They are lying by omission here.

[andyb]

They just may not have better ideas for the 40 at this time too. BDLC could swap in for Stubbs now for instance and at least give us another pinch hitting option (and he is probably a better OF than Sosa defensively).

I know this is temporary for McFarlane but they also probably think they have already used his option this year and they might as well get a quick look at him now before he goes to AAA to see if he is in their September picture.

[Matt_Winkelman]

I know there is a money component, but I believe also it is a capacity problem. You are saying you need 2-3 times as many balls, so it would require building a new factory, with the same supply chains for all of the components because you need the MLB balls to have a level of consistency, so you are having to get 2-3 times as much leather, thread, cording, that is all of the same quality and consistency. You are now probably stretching the cost and driving up the cost of all of your supplies and introducing a larger footprint for consistency and we can see that is already a problem with batches of balls for the majors leagues.

Also owners are cheap.

[Matt_Winkelman]

I am under the impression he will not pitch unless they need an arm due to an emergency. There is no look they are getting at him, and it wouldn't be meaningful if they did.

[Deadgmwalking]

My assumption was the latter, but it seems like stepping over dollars to pick up pennies.

Every pitch thrown by prospects would be with the exact same ball they'll use in the majors. That means better data, better pitch design, better grip consistency, yadda yadda yadda. Considering they spend tens of millions on player development, the incremental cost of using MLB balls throughout the affiliated minors seems tiny.

Like you said, owners are cheap.

[Callison]

Rincones is getting PT in spite of hitting .167 means the Phils see upside. Great opportunity for Rincones. Liked the effort to catch a fly running into the wall so hard he lost the ball.

[andyb]

I think they do see Rincones as a potential platoon 4th OF. Think .250 hitter with some power and walks. It is not his fault he needed to be called up because of the Garcia injury. He really should have had a couple of months in the minors this year before callup. The effort is there on defense but he really is not good. He misread the ball that he hit the wall on and probably should have had it without a crash. He has got some decent raw tools (power, strike zone control) at the plate but really needs to improve more to be playable.

[flyers19rw]

I think that you’re reaching for straws with Rincones. He’s overmatched at the plate. His OF skills are questionable. His is a nice story with Scotland and such. However at his age he’d need to show more upside to be considered as a prospect.

[Jazzhead]

But Rincones works reasonably well in a platoon with Derek Hill. They let us run out solid outfield defense every night, and they've gotten some key hits and played the game hard.

The key dynamic is that they cover the position well enough so that scarce resources can be marshalled for other positions of need. Specifically, a reliable high leverage reliever and a fifth starter.

[Patchmk88]

Rincones is not a good fielder at all. He reminds me of a left handed Castellanos in the field.