Phillies add three prospects to the 40-Man Roster ahead of Rule 5 Draft

The Phillies made their first real move of the offseason on Tuesday, selecting the contracts of Andrew Painter, Gabriel Rincones Jr., and Alex McFarlane to the 40-man roster. With these additions, the team sits at 33 players, which means they have breathing room, but not nearly enough to dodge the annual Rule 5 Draft.

Every year, the Rule 5 Draft forces front offices into the same miserable game. Organizations have to protect too many prospects and you choke your roster. Protect too few and you gift another team a potential long-term contributor for nothing. The Phillies walked right into that dilemma again.

The Rule 5 Landscape

Players drafted at age 19 or older must be added to the 40-man after four seasons, or they’re exposed to the Rule 5 Draft. Sign at 18 or younger and you get five seasons.

This year, the Phillies had 11 eligible prospects:

1. Andrew Painter
2. Gabriel Rincones Jr.
3. Griff McGarry
4. Alex McFarlane
5. Daniel Harper
6. Christian McGowan
7. Felix Reyes
8. Robert Moore
9. Saul Teran
10. Caleb Ricketts
11. Jordan Dissin

Here are the Phillies prospects who are Rule 5 Draft eligible in 2025

Obviously, not all of them can (or should) be protected and the Phillies made the safest, most predictable calls.

Alex McFarlane and Andrew Painter and outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. to the 40-man roster.

The Phillies have selected the contracts of right-handed pitchers Alex McFarlane and Andrew Painter and outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. to the 40-man roster. With these transactions, the club’s 40-man roster currently stands at 33 players.

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) November 18, 2025

Andrew Painter: Automatic. If he wasn’t protected, the city would riot.
Gabriel Rincones Jr.: Real corner outfield power, would have been stolen instantly.
Alex McFarlane: Not a slam dunk, but the organization clearly values the arm.

Phillies Top 30 Prospects >>

This is the part that surprised me was no Griff McGarry. Andrew Painter was always getting added. Even though he’s still recovering from injury, he remains the crown jewel of the farm system. He’s the kind of prospect teams stash for years just to dream on.

Gabriel Rincones Jr. was also a lock. Lefty power, corner outfield athleticism, and the kind of upside that disappears in ten minutes if you leave him dangling in a Rule 5 pool.

Alex McFarlane is the interesting one. A big arm with a mixed track record, injuries, and some developmental uncertainty. I thought the Phillies might gamble and leave him out there another year. They didn’t.

Say it aint so, Griff McGarry

Griff McGarry not getting protected tells you one of three things:

1. The Phillies think nobody will risk carrying him on an MLB roster all year.
2. The organization is simply done trying to wait out the command issues.
3. They already foresee moving on.

His stuff is still electric but electric doesn’t mean anything if it ends up six feet off the plate. Apparently, the Phillies are comfortable letting someone else figure it out.

The Danger Zone Guys

Daniel Harper, Christian McGowan, Robert Moore, Jordan Dissin, and Saul Teran all fall into the same category: interesting enough for development, not interesting enough to bet an MLB roster spot on.

Caleb Ricketts was my dark horse pick to get added, just because catching depth is a nightmare in baseball. With Rafael Marchan and Garrett Stubbs already hanging around and uncertainty looming over J.T. Realmuto, protecting a third catcher was always unlikely.

Roster Reality

Five adds would have been too many. Even four was a stretch. Last year, the Phillies protected Mick Abel, Moisés Chace, and Jean Cabrera.

This time around, they kept it simple: the elite pitching prospect, the high-upside outfielder, and the arm they believe in the most.

Painter, Rincones Jr., McFarlane. That’s the trio. Two chalk picks and one mild curveball. I thought for sure McGarry was getting added. Maybe the Phillies are calling everyone’s bluff. We’ll find out in December whether that gamble pays off or whether another team gladly takes the chance Philly wouldn’t.

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