The Philadelphia Phillies have one of the top pitching prospects in baseball on the verge of the majors.
And on Tuesday, they made the only decision that they possibly could with that guy, Andrew Painter.
The Phillies added Painter to their 40-man roster. That protects him from being selected in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft.
The Phillies also added pitcher Alex McFarlane and outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. To the 40.
Painter will turn 23 in April, and although he's battled injury, he's still a phenom.
Painter is 6-foot-7, and he missed the 2024 season with Tommy John.
He did have a 5.40 ERA this season at Triple-A, but there's a lot of time to figure it all out.
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Rincones is a lefty swinging outfielder who slugged.430 at Triple-A this season.
McFarlane spent the season pitching at High-A, where he had a 4.72 ERA.
These players had all reached the requisite amount of time that, if they hadn't been protected, another team could've taken them in the Rule 5 Draft.
This move by the Phillies ensures all three will remain with the Philadelphia organization to continue to develop and hopefully one day soon help the Phillies at the MLB level.
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