The Philadelphia Phillies made some splashes at the Trade Deadline, acquiring second baseman Luis Arraez and reliever Brooks Raley .
However, they decided not to address one of their biggest needs â starting pitching.
After Zack Wheeler , Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo , the Phillies have no quality depth. Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter have struggled, and Philadelphiaâs minor-league options are limited.
To show how bad pitching depth is around the league, Dave Dombrowski revealed that he was taking calls on minor-league starter Alan Rangel , per Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic .
Rangel, currently the next man up if any starter were to get hurt, was obviously not moved.
Rangel is currently the sixth man, ready to be called upon at a moment's notice. However, Dombrowski was still entertaining calls on his depth piece.
"President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Rangel has had 'ups and downs,' though 'people call us about him, about adding to their depth,'" Varnes wrote. "'So yeah, I always worry (about starting pitching depth). But also, after you get past the trading deadline, I worry about our depth everywhere if we have needs.'â
The Phillies signed Rangel to a free agent deal in 2024 after bouncing around teams' minor league systems. He would debut in 2025 as a 27-year-old, pitching to a 2.45 ERA in five games.
After Painter struggled to start his major league career and was sent down, Rangel would pitch in six games (three starts). Rangel had a 5.40 ERA in 23.1 innings, walking 12 batters. The Phillies would lose every game Rangel pitched in.
Despite this, teams were making calls for the right-hander. He would make his last start on July 19, pitching four innings and allowing five runs, before Painter was called back up.
While Rangel may not make it back up this season, he's proven to be valuable enough not to be shipped off.
Since Painter made his return on July 31, he has allowed three runs in 10 innings, a significant development in his career. Before he was recalled, he had a 7.06 ERA, but has lowered that to 6.48 in his last two starts.
In his last start on August 2, Wheeler went just two innings after a rain delay. Before that, he had one of the worst starts of his great season with five runs in three innings.
After a six-run outing on July 29, Luzardo went eight shutout innings on August 4.
Overall, the pitching staff has been the strength of a resurgent Phillies team, and Rangel is always good depth.
If the Phillies suffer a significant pitching injury, Rangel will be ready.
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