Phillies ‘open to all opportunities’ for Griff McGarry, who has shown progress in return to starting role

The season didn’t go the way Griff McGarry hoped it would, but if he’s learned anything since he was drafted by the Phillies in 2021, it is that development is not a straight line. The organization’s trio of top starting pitching prospects in 2023 — right-handers McGarry, Andrew Painter, and Mick Abel — have yet to make their big league debuts.

Painter, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023, likely will make his debut in 2025. But the paths to the big leagues for Abel and McGarry are less clear. McGarry’s role is unclear, too. After he struggled with his control and command, the Phillies moved him to the bullpen in 2024.

McGarry, 25, missed most of the season with a back injury, but even when he was healthy, the Phillies didn’t see a dramatic improvement in the quality of his stuff. His command wasn’t getting much better, either.

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He finished the year with a 4.55 ERA across two levels (31⅔ innings), with 36 walks and 42 strikeouts. When he was sent to the Arizona Fall League, the Phillies decided to move him back to being a starter.

Part of this was to build up his innings again. But another part of it was to see how he’d look in his former role.

“I think we’re open to all opportunities,” said Preston Mattingly, the Phillies’ assistant general manager, player development. “And all different roles, too. So we’ll see how this goes in the Fall League. And I think we’ll make a decision when we meet here in the offseason, and then put a path for Griff moving forward.”

So far, the results have been solid. McGarry has a 3.12 ERA through four games (8⅔ innings). He’s still walking batters at a high clip (nine walks to 11 strikeouts) but has pitched around any trouble.

His velocity remains in the 94-96 mph range, which is where it was this season. He recently was named to the Fall Stars game, which will be played Saturday.

“Even the misses are smaller now,” Mattingly said. “It almost looks like the routine he gets himself into, the consistency of the workload, where he knows who he’s going to pitch to, maybe helps him from a mental standpoint. I don’t have the answer to that. But I think we’ve seen the quality of strikes are better when he’s in the rotation.”

Regardless his role next year, McGarry said he will continue to use lessons he learned from the bullpen. The biggest among them was having a short memory.

“Let’s say I gave up two runs, and one of them is a home run,” McGarry said. “You can’t get caught up on that. It’s more about the next day being like, ‘All right, let’s start a new streak right here.’ Here we go. Right back to it. Right on the mound. Trust your stuff, get it going, kind of thing.

“But I really like that mentality. And that’s something that applies to starting, as well. You’ve got to be a little bit more reflective, I think, as a starter because you have that whole week to prepare. But at the same time, you want to flush it and go to work the next day.”

The Phillies hope this experience can help McGarry build some confidence. It doesn’t hurt that he’s reunited with his former roommate and teammate in Painter, who has been pitching in the Fall League to build up his workload.

They’re not living together anymore, but they’re still catching partners. A few weeks ago, Painter started a game, and McGarry came in after him.

“It was fun seeing him throw again, even from the bullpen,” McGarry said. “I was warming up, trying to watch as much as I could while still staying focused on what I have to do.

“He looked good. The fastball is definitely still there. It’s just right where he left off.”

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McGarry hopes he can finish the Fall League on a strong note and carry that momentum into spring training. Mattingly is hopeful, too.

“I think he’s shown well,” Mattingly said. “As we know with Griff, when he’s over the plate, he’s going to be a tough at-bat for anybody. Regardless of the quality of hitter, I think he’s going to have real success.

“So it’s just him focusing on dominating the strike zone, and we think that leads to dominating hitters. When he’s ahead in counts, when he’s in plus counts, it’s going to be a really tough at-bat for anybody. And he’s done that so far to this point in the Fall League.”