Phillies return Rule 5 draft pick Zach McCambley to Marlins

[Ely Sussman]

The Miami Marlins are reacquiring one of their Rule 5 draft departures. Right-hander Zach McCambley did not make the Philadelphia Phillies' Opening Day roster, so they will return him to the Fish (h/t Todd Zolecki, MLB.com). Meanwhile, fellow right-hander and Rule 5 draftee Matt Pushard is sticking with the St. Louis Cardinals.

McCambley and Pushard were both trending toward these fates earlier this month, as I detailed here. Individual ability aside, McCambley had a tougher path to a big league job considering that the Phillies have a deeper and more experienced bullpen than the Cardinals and much more urgency to win games in 2026.

In eight Grapefruit League games (7.1 IP), McCambley allowed one earned run, six walks and four strikeouts. He threw only 55.3% of his pitches for strikes. In Pushard's eight games (8.2 IP), he allowed three earned runs, two walks and nine strikeouts. He faced his former organization twice during that span.

McCambley has a long history with the Marlins, who selected him in the third round of the 2020 MLB Draft. He spent most of 2025 with Triple-A Jacksonville. In 62 total innings working exclusively in relief (AA and AAA combined), he posted a 2.90 ERA and 2.60 FIP with a 24.3 K-BB% (best of his professional career). His arsenal consists of a four-seam fastball, cutter and sweeper.

Expect the Marlins to assign McCambley to Jacksonville again. Health permitting, he's likely to make his MLB debut by season's end.

Turning 27 years old in May, McCambley can elect minor league free agency next offseason if he isn't on the Marlins 40-man roster by then.

View full article

[One Regend]

I'm not surprised Matt Pushard is still on the Cardinals. The Cardinals have embraced going full rebuild.

In all fairness, the Cardinals should've gone into a rebuild 3 years ago back when Pujols and Yadier Molina retired. But now with stagnant results year after year, they've been dragged into the rebuild kicking and screaming. So it doesn't surprise me they still have Matt Pushard. They need all the young talent they can get, and if it means stuffing Pushard onto the MLB roster for the entire year, so be it, record be damned.

The Phillies are still in their window, technically speaking, so they have way more urgency than the Cardinals. They can't afford keeping a Zach McCambley on their MLB roster when they've got big dreams to chase.

That said, time is running out for the Phillies. They re-signed Kyle Schwarber, but they lost a lot of talent to free agency, and Zack Wheeler is set to retire after 2027.
I have a feeling had the Phillies drafted better, their window could've been far wider. Wasting a #1 overall pick on Mickey Moniak, by far and away, stung the Phillies the most during this contention window. But as a Marlins fan, I'm not going to say no to a failed dynasty from a division rival.

[THOMAS JOSEPH]

Damn, I hope I am not turning into a David Samson, because my first thought here was how sweet it would be if McCambley got the last out in the game that eliminated the Phillies from the playoffs this year. Come to think of it, any Marlins pitcher would be fine in that scenario. Lol. 

[Ely Sussman]

18 hours ago, One Regend said:

I have a feeling had the Phillies drafted better, their window could've been far wider. Wasting a #1 overall pick on Mickey Moniak, by far and away, stung the Phillies the most during this contention window. But as a Marlins fan, I'm not going to say no to a failed dynasty from a division rival.

Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford are so critical to their future. Could extend their window in the unlikely but non-zero chance that both of them quickly prove to be above-average MLB starters.

[Robert Hanson]

   Was thinking that Pushard would be the one most likely returning, but not until after the season started. 
   The Phillies rotation threw a lot of innings last year & their bullpen would be a good place to stash a rookie. 
   Meanwhile, the Cardinals rotation is not good and can easily see them burning through relievers, forcing them to eventually return Pushard. 

[One Regend]

8 hours ago, Ely Sussman said:

Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford are so critical to their future. Could extend their window in the unlikely but non-zero chance that both of them quickly prove to be above-average MLB starters.

Imagine a world where the Phillies landed a star with the #1 overall pick in the 2016 draft. That would've changed the entire dynamic of their contention window.

That said, the 2016 class largely sucked, so I guess I can't say I blame them for their failure there, as 90% of the other teams that year whiffed on their first round picks. (Miami for example is one of the better outcomes, and I still dont see Braxton Garrett as anything better than mid)