Hopefully the IronPigs remembered to stop the mail and have someone water the plants, because they’ve been away from home for over two weeks — 16 days for those counting — and a lot has changed.

It’s always possible that there will be more changes this week since the Florida Complex League, filled with young players, just ended so many of those players will move to Clearwater. That starts the domino effect as players move up the ladder in the Phillies minor league system.

The two new names to know are Alex McFarlane and Kameron Misner.

McFarlane, 25, is a right-handed reliever who throws smoke. He has worked his way through the Phillies organization and seemed to be kept at Reading for longer than he needed to be. Early in the season he was recalled to Philadelphia for a day simply because the team needed a warm body and he was on the 40-man roster. Last week he was recalled again and at least got into a game where he threw a scoreless inning against the Dodgers.

When the Phillies optioned McFarlane out they sent him to Lehigh Valley rather than back to Double-A Reading. With the Fightin’ Phils this season, McFarlane was 1-1 with a 2.06 ERA and 12 saves in 13 opportunities. He struck out 47 in 35 innings, but did walk 18, which is a little on the high side and was one of the reasons that the Phillies didn’t send him along to Triple-A and had him in the majors only for short stints.

Of the 12 pitches McFarlane threw in his MLB debut, six of them were 100 mph or more and three more were between 99 and 100 mph. After he gives that to hitters, McFarlane drops in a mid-80s slider and watches them try to adjust their bat speed; usually they can’t.

The other new IronPig is outfielder Kameron Misner, who was acquired over the weekend from the Kansas City Royals after being designated for assignment. The 28-year-old was a first-round pick of the Miami Marlins in the 2019 Draft and wound up making his major league debut with Tampa Bay in 2024 after being traded there from Miami. Last November he was dealt to the Royals and had been designated for assignment last week.

In 97 major league games with Tampa Bay and Kansas City, the left-handed hitting Misner has five home runs and 26 RBIs to go with a slash line of .206/.259/.312. He’s also versatile enough to play all three outfield positions. The Phillies got to see Misner up close when he played in three games of their series in Kansas City earlier this year. Misner went 0-for-5 in those games.

To clear room on the 40-man roster, the Phillies designated center fielder Steward Berroa for assignment, so they have 10 days to trade or release the outfielder who they acquired earlier in the season from Milwaukee. They also risk losing Berroa on waivers if they cannot trade him.

Three players who were with Lehigh Valley the last time they were at home are now in Philadelphia. Pitcher Brian Keller made a strong major league debut with the Phillies when he threw three innings of one-run ball against the Yankees on Saturday. He could get another outing with the Phillies based on how the 32-year-old rookie pitched in his debut.

Outfielder Bryan De La Cruz is back in the big leagues and playing well. The 29-year-old has played three games for Philadelphia and is batting .714 (5-for-7), and also hit his first MLB home run since September of 2024 when he was with Pittsburgh. The Phillies play the Marlins this week, which will allow De La Cruz to travel back to Miami where he made his MLB debut as a Marlin back in 2021.

Injuries to backup catchers Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchan created an opening for Payton Henry to be recalled. Henry’s stay could be short with Stubbs expected back this week, possibly as early as Tuesday. Right now, the backup to Paul McIntosh would be Lou Albrecht, who has been what manager Tank Adamson called “a good soldier.” Albrecht should be no higher than Jersey Shore, but the Phillies have needed an emergency “organizational catcher” and have had him with the IronPigs for much of the season. The rest of the time Albrecht has been on the Developmental List for Lehigh Valley and has had just one at-bat with the Pigs.

LOOK MA, BOTH HANDS ... Robert Moore hit two home runs in a game against the Omaha Storm Chasers eight days ago. The unique thing about his multi-homer game was that the first one came as a left-handed hitter, and the second as a right-handed hitter. The pair of home runs led to five runs batted in for Moore, who now has 10 home runs and 35 RBIs with a .234 average this season with Lehigh Valley.

WHERE DO WE STAND? ... The IronPigs had a nine-game road trip to Omaha and Indianapolis after the All-Star break, and it didn’t begin well. Lehigh Valley lost the first five games before coming back to win three of the next four in Indy. That leaves the Pigs at 13-14 in the second half, six games behind Durham for the top spot in the International League East. The Bulls have the top record in the league in the second half at 18-7. Lehigh Valley opens a six-game homestand against Buffalo (Toronto Blue Jays). The Bisons are one game ahead of Lehigh Valley at 14-13.

A TOP-NOTCH PAINTER ... Andrew Painter had his best start of the season with Lehigh Valley in Sunday’s finale in Indianapolis. The 23-year-old right-hander threw six innings and allowed just one run on five hits and no walks. He struck out six hitters and had an 8-1 lead when he left. Fortunately for Lehigh Valley, they scored an insurance run in the top of the ninth because shoddy fielding led to a seven-run inning with five of those runs being unearned in the bottom of the ninth. The IronPigs escaped with a 9-8 win.