Report: Phillies to shift Double-A Reading’s Griff McGarry to bullpen role

Phillies Nation‘s No. 3 Phillies prospect Griff McGarry was scheduled to start Friday night for the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils against Hartford. He was scratched from that outing and some worried that it was due to a blister that limited him to just 3 1/3 innings in his last start on Aug. 26.

The Phillies, according to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, are moving McGarry to a bullpen role.

The move likely has no barring on how the Phillies view McGarry moving forward. He is a starter and Dave Dombrowski previously hinted that all three of McGarry, Mick Abel and Andrew Painter could get a chance to compete for a rotation spot out of spring training next year.

Instead, it appears the Phillies are going to experiment with the idea of McGarry pitching out of the bullpen. If that’s the case, a late September, early October call up to the big leagues is not out of the picture.

If the Phillies selected McGarry’s contract, he would not be eligible to pitch in the postseason unless he replaces someone who is on the injured list and has already served the minimum time needed to be reinstated.

McGarry’s innings total this season across both High A and Double A is 77 1/3. That number can probably go a little higher, especially if the Phillies want him to spend a good chunk of next year in the big league rotation. However, if the Phillies think McGarry is ready to contribute to the big league club this season in a bullpen role, the lack of innings probably becomes secondary.

It’s not as if there is no room for McGarry. When fully healthy, the back end is solid with Seranthony Domínguez, David Robertson, José Alvarado and Brad Hand in the mix. The recent struggles from Connor Brogdon, Nick Nelson and Andrew Bellatti have opened up a spot for McGarry to occupy in the middle innings.

Zach Eflin is also attempting a comeback this season as a reliever, but if that doesn’t work out, it’s possible the Phillies could transfer Eflin to the 60-day injured list and select McGarry.

McGarry has been excellent in his first full season of professional baseball. He’s compiled a 3.26 ERA with 117 strikeouts for the Jersey Shore BlueClaws and Reading Fightin Phils. The Phillies selected him in the fifth round out of the University of Virginia in the 2021 MLB Draft.

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