Powerful Phillies Prospect Frustrated By Winter of Setbacks

CLEARWATER, Fla. — There was a big opportunity ahead this spring for Gabriel Rincones Jr., the Phillies' powerful lefty-hitting corner outfield prospect.

He stood out in camp a year ago with three early home runs and seven RBI, and two seasons in a row he's hit for power and taken his walks in the upper levels of the minor leagues. In 2025, he popped 18 home runs at Triple A and got on base at a .370 clip, fueled by an International League-leading 80 walks.

Rincones turns 25 next week, and if healthy, he would have been the most intriguing member of the competition for the Phillies' final bench spot.

That's what's made this winter so frustrating for the former third-round pick. Rincones has been sidelined all of camp with soreness/tendinitis in both knees that dates back to the offseason.

"I was ready to be done (rehabbing) by December, but setback after setback, it's been very unprecedented stuff," he said somberly in the Phillies' spring training clubhouse Thursday.

"At first running was fine, everything was cruising, then I was doing some rear-foot elevated squats and that's when I felt a little tweak. I got a needle to try to make it better and it hasn't been cooperative."

Rincones received a PRP injection but it has not alleviated the pain.

"I got PRP as kind of a preventative measure," he said. "I didn't know it was going to be this slow. I didn't do anything to get hurt, which is most frustrating."

Swing-wise, Rincones has been limited to taking soft-toss flips. There's been no definitive word about when he might be able to get into a spring training game, but manager Rob Thomson has mentioned the midpoint as a goal.

It doesn't seem like there will be enough time for Rincones to make the club out of camp and the Phillies may not want that anyway given the reps he's missed. It could make more sense to start him at Triple A and have him face live pitching every day.

Rincones was added to the Phils' 40-man roster on November 18, the same day they added Andrew Painter and 24-year-old right-hander Alex McFarlane, who hasn't yet pitched above Double A.

Doing so enabled the Phillies to protect Rincones from December's Rule 5 draft, where he may have been plucked away by another club interested in his pop.

Even if the early part of the season is unlikely, Rincones could still contribute at the major-league level in 2026. He just needs to get healthy. If he can, Rincones figures to be a call-up if Brandon Marsh suffers an injury at some point in the regular season because the Phillies' other outfielders in the mix — Johan Rojas, Bryan De La Cruz, Pedro Leon, possibly Dylan Moore — all hit from the right side.