Andrew Painter, Alex McFarlane, and Gabriel Rincones Jr. were the only names added to the Phillies 40-man roster on Monday which protects the three players from being taken in the Rule 5 Draft on December 10th. None of those players were surprises; all three were thought to be on the list of prospects that the Phillies would protect. The surprises came from the list of players that the Phillies did not protect and they will now face losing to other teams next month.
The first two names that are noticeable by their absence are outfielder Felix Reyes and pitcher Griff McGarry. Earlier in his career, McGarry was up among the top pitching prospects in the organization, but he suddenly lost command of his pitches and got himself into trouble. His strikeout-to-walk-ratio went from 3.42 with Jersey Shore in 2022, sliding all the way down to 1.11 with Lehigh Valley in 2024. During that time, the Phillies didn’t do him any favors by moving him back-and-forth between the bullpen and the rotation and he went from being the 51st best prospect in all of baseball to disappearing from the top 100 prospect list according to Baseball America. In 2025, McGarry was bumped down to Double-A Reading where he recaptured some of his command and moved his K/BB ratio up to 2.29 with the Fightins. Philadelphia gave him a start with Lehigh Valley in the last week of the season and he responded with five innings of one run ball, walking two and striking out eight hitters. His season performance was good enough to pick up the Paul Owens Award as the best pitcher in the Phillies minor league system. Now, just a couple months later and still only 26, McGarry finds himself unprotected for the Rule 5 Draft.
McGarry and Reyes should get together and commiserate with each other. All Reyes did was win the Eastern League batting title with a .354 average at Reading and pick up the league MVP trophy. He too got a late audition with Lehigh Valley and hit .261 in six games with a home run. He also played a strong left field for the IronPigs. This is a 24-year-old who opened the season at Jersey Shore and after 85 games there moved to Reading for his next 95 games. Between those two stops and Lehigh Valley, Reyes hit 16-67-.331/.362/.562/.924 in 101 games.
At age 26, Daniel Harper is a little on the older side and missed a chunk of the 2025 season with injuries, which could explain his omission. The right-hander had two separate stints on the IL and then struggled with Triple-A Lehigh Valley to the tune of a 10.57 ERA in 15 relief appearances. The fact is that 2025 was basically a lost season for Harper, but it may be a little early to have left him unprotected. The Phillies are banking on the thought that teams will be scared off by the injury issues and leave him alone.
Saul Teran, 24 in March, moved swiftly from Clearwater to Jersey Shore and then on to Reading in 2025. Between the three towns, the righty made 40 relief appearances and went 5-1, 1.30 with 15 saves in 16 opportunities. In 48.1 innings, he walked 16 and struck out 52. As an international free agent out of Venezuela, Teran pitched in the Dominican Summer League in 2022 before being brought to the states to pitch in the Florida Complex League. A couple of months later he was bumped up to Clearwater where he made just five relief appearances. The Phillies kept him at Clearwater for all of 2024 and he posted a 3.96 ERA with seven saves in eight opportunities. It was surprising that they started him at Clearwater again in 2025, but they moved him up after just 15 relief appearances. Teams may avoid Teran in the major league phase simply because he has just three relief appearances above High-A ball, but some teams will try to stash a guy with a strong arm in the bullpen and be careful where they use him to see if he can make enough adjustments to stick.
The theory behind the non-additions
After adding Painter, McFarland, and Rincones, the 40-man roster stands at 33. That means that room on the roster was not a reason for not adding other players. Remember that adding a player to the 40-man means that if they don’t make the team out of spring training or to send them back down later in the year, the Phillies have to use an option year on him and they can do that in only three seasons.
What the Phillies are banking on is that teams will be turned off by one thing or another. Whether it’s the lack of Triple-A experience, coming off of an injury, or any other little chink in the armor that can be found. The players who were protected all deserved to be placed on the roster, so it was no surprise. It’s easy to see where the Phillies could lose one or even two players in the major league phase of the Rule 5 Draft.
Please scroll down to comment on this story or to give it a rating. We appreciate your feedback!
Disclaimer: Some of the products featured or linked on this website may generate income for Philly Baseball News through affiliate commissions, sponsorships, or direct sales. We only promote items we believe in, but please assume that PBN may earn a cut from qualifying purchases that you make using a link on this site.
Privacy Policy | Contact us
© 2025 LV Sports Media. All rights reserved.
Philly Baseball News 