The Phillies added prospects Andrew Painter, Gabriel Rincones Jr. and Alex McFarlane to their 40-man roster Tuesday, the deadline to protect them ahead of December’s Rule 5 draft.

The three additions are unsurprising. Painter is the Phillies’ top pitching prospect and one of the top-ranked Rule 5-eligible players in baseball. Rincones could be playing in the Phillies’ outfield come summer. McFarlane, who pitched out of the bullpen toward the end of the season, has flashed strong stuff and triple-digit velocity.

Here is an overview of the three prospects, and a look at whom the Phillies chose not to protect.

Gabriel Rincones Jr., OF

Rincones, 24, hit his stride after a slow start to the season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, during which he hit .208/.342/.354 with a .696 OPS through the end of June. It was somewhat surprising given Rincones’ star turn in spring training and his success at each step of the minors before reaching Triple A this year.

He told The Athletic on June 11 that he was working through several issues: trying to transition from relying on his natural athleticism, developing consistency in his routine, pressing against lefties and keeping what happens on the field from seeping into his off-the-field life.

“It’s hard for me,” Rincones said. “I feel like what I do on the field, sometimes, I really take that as my value as a human being. So when that is how you look at things, how you play usually is how you see yourself. Then you’re not really the best person, the best teammate to your peers. I’m glad it’s happening to me (now) because if I’m like that in a big-league stadium, they don’t have tolerance for that.”

The second half was smoother on the field for Rincones, as he homered seven times and posted a .987 OPS over the final two months of the season.

Rincones could debut next season as part of a remade outfield. Still, the Phillies, like much of the sport, hope to sign a right-handed-hitting outfielder. Rincones would be the club’s third lefty outfielder, in addition to Justin Crawford and Brandon Marsh.

Moreover, hitting left-handed pitching has been an issue for Rincones. He hit and slugged .107 against lefties with a .322 OPS in 2025, while he slashed .261/.392/.480 with an .872 OPS against righties. Director of player development Luke Murton said lefties will be a focus for Rincones this offseason, but:

“Really, he’s another guy that got comfortable at the Triple-A level,” Murton said. “He’s a major-league player. He’s going to be a good player for us for a long time.”

Alex McFarlane, RHP

Alex McFarlane made “huge steps” with his command against lefties, director of pitching development Travis Hergert said. (Tom Priddy / Four Seam Images via Associated Press)

McFarlane, 24, produced a 4.84 ERA over 80 innings in his first full season since undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2023. The Phillies liked his stuff when they drafted him out of the University of Miami in 2022, though command has been an issue.

McFarlane moved to the bullpen in August, partly because he was nearing his innings limit. He threw 14 innings of relief to finish the season, allowing seven earned runs scattered across three of 10 outings. His fastball velocity, which averaged around 95 mph as a starter, touched triple digits at times and hung around 97 mph.

The first half was about coming back healthy for McFarlane, who gave up 32 earned runs during his first 12 outings en route to a 7.02 ERA. Once he was out of the rehab mindset in the second half, McFarlane focused on refining his command against lefties.

“He dominates righties,” director of pitching development Travis Hergert said. “He’s got a very crazy moving two-seam fastball to his arm-side that gets in on righties and a hard, sweeping slider. But we really wanted to hone in on that four-seam flight and clean that up to have some true carry, to be able to command the top part of the zone — especially to lefties — to get to his other weapons. And he made huge steps with that as a starter.”

McFarlane began the season at High-A Jersey Shore and finished it at Double-A Reading. He is likely to remain in the bullpen given his improved velocity and command.

Andrew Painter, RHP

Andrew Painter had an uneven season but learned three new pitches and logged 118 innings. (Olivia Damato / MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Despite a bumpy 2025 in which he posted a 5.40 ERA in Triple A, Painter remains one of the sport’s top pitching prospects. The Phillies feel that, with more time, Painter can regain the command he had before his July 2023 Tommy John surgery. That was the biggest problem for the righty, who averaged 3.58 walks per nine innings.

The biggest accomplishment, Painter and the Phillies feel, is that he remained healthy while pitching 118 innings. But Hergert also pointed to Painter learning three new pitches: a two-seam fastball, a changeup and re-embracing a sweeper.

The changeup drew six whiffs on 14 pitches in Painter’s final outing. It elicited 60 whiffs on the season, though blisters derailed his use of it at points. When it was working, his changeup was an important weapon against lefties.

“I’ll steal a line from (Phillies pitching coach) Caleb Cotham: ‘He has hand talent,’” Hergert said. “He can manipulate the baseball, and he can pick up certain things and feel around for different grips to get different spin. And this one was a bit of a challenge for him. But the thing about Andy is he’s going to continue to work.”

The pitch is one piece to a broader puzzle. What once seemed like a linear trajectory to stardom for Painter has become more complex in the aftermath of his surgery. But, with a full offseason ahead of him, the Phillies feel Painter is poised for a better 2026 — one that will likely feature his major-league debut.

Whom did the Phillies not protect?

Perhaps the biggest name the Phillies did not protect was Griff McGarry, the 2021 fifth-round pick who went unprotected (and unselected) last year. He had a turnaround 2025 season, posting a 3.44 ERA in 83 2/3 innings and received the Phillies’ top award for minor-league pitchers. His command improved, as his strikeouts increased and his walk rate decreased. But the Phillies did not have enough faith in McGarry’s future to keep him on their 40-man roster.

Saul Teran and Daniel Harper, a pair of relievers, were also left off. So was Felix Reyes, an outfielder who hit consistently while spending most of the season at Double A.

Teams pay $100,000 to pick a player in the major-league phase of the Rule 5 draft, after which they must remain on the club’s MLB roster for the entire season or be offered back for $50,000.

The Rule 5 draft will take place Dec. 10 at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, so McGarry, Reyes, Teran and Harper will be among those up for grabs.