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Griff McGarry returns to the AFL
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Griff McGarry returns to the AFL

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

Painter, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023, will likely make his debut in 2025. But the paths to the big leagues for Abel and McGarry are less clear. McGarry’s role is also unclear. After struggling 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 improving much 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 the starting job.

Part of that was rebuilding his sleeves. But another part was seeing what he would look like in his old role.

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

So far, the results have been solid. McGarry has a 3.12 ERA in four games (8⅔ innings). He continues to walk hitters at a high rate (nine walks to 11 strikeouts), but he has worked around any issues.

His speed remains in the 94-96 mph range, which is the case this season. He was recently named for the Fall Stars game, which will be played on Saturday.

“Even the misses are smaller now,” Mattingly said. “It almost seems like the routine he gets into, the consistency of the workload, the fact that he knows who he’s going to be talking to, maybe helps him from a mental standpoint. I don’t have the answer to that. But I think we’ve found that the quality of hitting is better when he’s in the rotation.

Whatever his role next year, McGarry said he will continue to use the lessons he learned from the bullpen. The most important of these was having a short memory.

“Let’s say I gave up two runs, and one of them was a home run,” McGarry said. “You can’t get caught up in that. It’s more about saying the next day, “Okay, let’s start a new sequence right here.” ” Here we go. Let’s come back to it. Right on the mound. Trust your stuff, go for it, that sort of thing.

“But I really like this mentality. And this is something that also applies to starting up. I think you have to be a little more thoughtful as a beginner because you have the whole week to prepare. But at the same time, you want to empty it and go to work the next day.

The Phillies hope this experience can help McGarry build his confidence. It doesn’t hurt that he reunites with his old roommate and teammate in Painter, who pitched in the Fall League to increase their workload.

They no longer live together, but they still catch partners. A few weeks ago, Painter started a match and McGarry followed him.

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

“He looked good. The fastball is definitely still there. That’s exactly where he left off.

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

“I thought he showed well,” Mattingly said. “As we know with Griff, when he’s above the plate, he’s going to be a tough fighter for anyone. Regardless of how good the hitter is, 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 the counts, when he’s in the positive counts, it’s going to be a very tough fight for anyone. And he’s done it so far in the Fall League.