Phillies Call Up Alan Rangel After Andrew Painter's 7.06 ERA Exit

Q: Is Alan Rangel a real solution, or will the Phillies be forced into a major trade to save their playoff hopes?

Alan Rangel looks more like a stopgap than a true answer, and the Phillies are still likely to need outside rotation help if they want to protect their playoff position. The case for Rangel is real but limited. He has earned this chance: Mattingly said he has been “throwing the best” at Triple-A, and his recent Lehigh Valley numbers are respectable, including a 3.17 ERA and 3.40 FIP in nine starts. He also showed something in his earlier Phillies cameo, allowing one run with five strikeouts in three innings. For a club short on internal options, he is the most credible in-house fallback. But the larger picture argues against treating him as a season-saving fix. He is 28, not a premium prospect, and his profile is more back-end depth than impact starter, with a fastball around 92.8 mph and a likely role that could include working behind an opener. That is useful, but it is not the kind of certainty a contender usually wants in a postseason chase. The Phillies’ rotation questions go beyond one spot. Andrew Painter has been sent down for a reset after a 7.06 ERA, Aaron Nola has struggled badly, and the organization’s upper-level depth is thin. Even with strong work from Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo, the club has clear vulnerability at the back of the rotation. So Rangel can help stabilize innings in the short term. If the Phillies want a reliable No. 4 starter for August, September and October, the evidence still points toward a trade.

3 articles · Updated · The Philadelphia Inquirer · Jun 22

Alan Rangel was promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to cover Philadelphia’s fifth rotation spot Monday and was lined up to pitch behind opener Tim Mayza against Washington.
The move followed Andrew Painter’s option to Lehigh Valley last week after a 7.06 ERA stretch; interim manager Don Mattingly said the Phillies plan to keep filling the spot flexibly with openers or traditional starts.
Rangel, 28, has a 3.99 ERA over 70 Triple-A innings this season and a 2.57 ERA in six career major league appearances, including a three-inning outing against the Cubs in April.
Kyle Backhus was activated from the 15-day injured list, giving Philadelphia another left-handed bullpen option and helping enable Mayza’s opener role against a Nationals lineup stacked with lefties and switch-hitters.