What is the story about?
Needing another arm for their beleaguered bullpen, the Phillies have recalled righthanded reliever Alex McFarlane to the majors.
McFarlane is on the older side for a rookie (25 years old) and has never pitched above the AA level (he was called up to the majors for one day in April but didn’t appear in a game), but there are reasons to be optimistic: He throws over 100 MPH and has performed well
at Reading.
It seems like the Phillies will take advantage of the off day on Thursday to skip the problematic fifth starter spot the next time through their order. After that, if McFarlane looks better than the other relievers in the bullpen (not a high bar to clear), it’s possible that he may stick around.
