The Boston Red Sox open a highly anticipated three-game series against the San Francisco Giants at Fenway Park on Friday, after winning three of their last five games to solidify a 5½-game lead for the second American League Wild Card spot.
The Giants series sees the first return to Boston of former Red Sox All-Star Rafael Devers, who was traded to the Giants in the most shocking deal of 2025.
But before the Giants series, the Red Sox were forced to make a concerning announcement on one of their top 2025 draft picks, placing 22-year-old pitcher Marcus Phillips on the injured list.
The High-A Greenville Drive moved the right-hander to the 7-day injured list Thursday, retroactive to August 19, days after Phillips walked off the mound mid-start and met with a trainer. The diagnosis is right elbow inflammation, according to Red Sox prospect expert Andrew Parker. Phillips had thrown two innings allowing three runs on four hits in the outing before he departed after just one pitch in the third, according to Red Sox Minor League writer Brendan Camp. Neither report included word on an MRI, the severity of the elbow injury, or a return date for Phillips beyond the mandatory seven-day minimum.
Marcus Phillips Battles Command Issues Beyond the Injury
MLB Pipeline ranks Phillips as the Red Sox’s No. 4 pitching prospect, trailing only Juan Valera, Sadbiel Delzine and John Holobetz among the system’s arms on its midseason Top 30 update.
The elbow issue, however, compounds a difficult first full pro season. Phillips carries an 0-7 record and a 6.71 ERA across 19 appearances for High-A Greenville, with 73 strikeouts but a bloated 1.80 WHIP over 61.2 innings, according to SoxProspects.com statistics.
His fastball still sits 96-99 mph and has touched triple digits, and his slider and cutter both grade as potential above-average offerings once he locates them consistently. Scouts have long flagged the effort in his delivery, a low three-quarters slot with a long arm action trailing behind him, as the likely root of that inconsistency, and it is a big reason evaluators still see him as bound for a bullpen role despite his projection as a starter.
Boston selected the Sioux Falls, South Dakota native with the 33rd overall pick in 2025 out of Tennessee, where he helped the Volunteers win the 2024 College World Series before moving into the rotation as a junior and posting a 3.90 ERA with 98 strikeouts in 83 innings. He signed for a reported $2.5 million bonus and carries a late-2028 major league arrival projection.
Boston Red Sox Lean Harder on Remaining Pitching Depth
Phillips began his pro career in Greenville specifically so the organization could develop him alongside fellow 2025 draftees Kyson Witherspoon and Anthony Eyanson in the same rotation. That plan changed on August 3, when Boston sent Witherspoon and Eyanson to Baltimore, along with catcher Carlos Narváez and outfielder Enddy Azocar, and got back All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman and backup backstop Jake Rogers.
Eyanson had ranked as the system’s No. 2 prospect and Witherspoon its No. 3 or No. 4, leaving Phillips as one of the higher-ceiling arms remaining from that 2025 draft class. His long-term outlook, a mid-rotation starter if the command sharpens, or a power reliever, has not changed because of the trade itself. But Boston’s pitching pipeline looks noticeably thinner without two of Phillips’ draft classmates and former rotation mates in it, which puts more of the organization’s future rotation hopes on his shoulders than existed a month ago.
Red Sox Announce Bad News on No. 4 Pitching Prospect Before Giants Series