A pair of 2025 Lehigh Valley IronPigs are back home to start the 2026 season. Griff McGarry officially cleared waivers yesterday and was returned to the Phillies from the Washington Nationals who had selected him in the Rule 5 Draft last December. Meanwhile, outfielder Oscar Mercado has signed a minor league deal with the Phillies and will also be on the Lehigh Valley roster when the season starts on Friday.
McGarry’s 2025 season included time with Lehigh Valley after spending most of the season at Double-A Reading. After a rough and inconsistent 2024 campaign, the Phillies moved him back into a starting role, and that change seemed to help him regain some rhythm and confidence on the mound.
Across three levels in 2025, McGarry made 21 starts and logged 83.2 innings with a 3.44 ERA and 124 strikeouts, showing that his raw stuff remained very effective. When he did reach Triple-A Lehigh Valley late in the season, it was a continuation of that progress, as he looked more composed than he had the year before.
The biggest storyline, though, was still his control. McGarry has long battled command issues, and that did not disappear in 2025. He still walked hitters at a rate of 5.3 per nine innings, which is high for a pitcher trying to reach the majors. That number actually represented a major improvement from 2024, when his walk rate was roughly double that figure and often derailed his outings.
That improvement was noticeable beyond just the numbers. Reports throughout the season pointed to better overall command and a more repeatable delivery, even if it still came and went at times. His walk rate dropped significantly, and he started to show the ability to be more poised on the mound.
“I’m definitely excited (for this year) because I felt great heading out of last year and I was able to come back up here at the end of the year and get a good start in. I just want to pick up where I left off last year and keep building on that,” said McGarry during the IronPigs Media Day on Wednesday. “I’m just coming in ready to pitch and do what they want me to do here no matter what that is. I’m not built up to start yet, but I’m ready to pitch in any scenario, if that’s getting built up or doing what they need me to do in relief, I’ll be ready.”
In Spring Training with the Nationals, McGarry’s command issues continued. In 5.2 innings, McGarry walked five batters and struck out six, ironically though he posted a 3.18 ERA.
“I think you always want to pitch more and have more of an opportunity, but in the end, it’s a business and they made their decision on me. I’ll just come back here and be ready for whatever happens,” said McGarry.
While McGarry didn’t say it, you almost get the feeling that the Nationals never really gave him much of an opportunity and weren’t looking to find a way to keep him. The Nationals coaching staff told him that they would basically just stay “hands off” and let him pitch.
“They didn’t talk to me about doing much different, just talk to me about shortening my pitch repertoire slightly so that I wasn’t leaning on the curve ball or changeup so much,” said McGriff. “They didn’t really talk too much about mechanics or anything. They just told me that this spring they were just going to go out there and let me compete, and that’s kind of how it was.”
With the lack of depth among starting pitchers, it would almost figure that the Phillies would look to build McGriff up to where he could work out of the starting rotation. They could have him work as an “opener” and slowly add to his pitch count or conceivably send him to extended camp in Clearwater to let him build up there until he is ready to join the IronPigs rotation.
Lehigh Valley opens their season Friday night against the Toledo Mud Hens and Alan Rangel is getting the start for the ‘Pigs. Zack Wheeler makes his rehab start Saturday night and Ryan Cusick is set to start Sunday’s opener. After the three with Toledo, the IronPigs head for a warmer climate to open a six-game series in Durham next Tuesday.
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