​MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 15: Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Alex McFarlane (71) delivers during the eighth inning of the MLB game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins on August 15th, 2026, at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN. (Photo by Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images We asked a question about the Phillies promoting Alex McFarlane and here were the results.Crazy enough, the Phillies promoted McFarlane that exact day the poll went live, so maybe the fans know what they are talking about.The idea of keeping McFarlane down as long as they did was probably married to needing a long reliever in the bullpen. Starters weren’t going long in starts and someone had to lock up a few innings here and there, meaning it couldn’t be a bullpen full of one inning guys. Alan Rangel came up when needed and gave the team a few innings, after which McFarlane was summoned. However, there were several games in which McFarlane was a better option than, say, Chase Shugart or Kyle Backhus during this season. The stuff is clearly better, yet the team continued to prefer he hone his craft in the minor leagues. That craft is likely due to shoddy command, as evidenced by his rolling out walk rates consistently over 11% in the minors. By this point, the team seems to just rather his electric stuff be used in the major leagues, living with the occasional walk if needed, but working with the major league pitching staff to maybe help with that particular issue.This post brought to you by FanDuel.