TODAY: Thomson told Matt Gelb and other reporters that Painter received good news in his tests, as the right-hander’s UCL looks to be healing. Painter will remain in shutdown mode while the Phillies continue to monitor the situation and until the elbow soreness subsides, but it seems as though there isn’t anything overtly wrong with Painter’s arm.
JULY 7: Phillies’ top pitching prospect Andrew Painter is headed for evaluation after reporting discomfort in his throwing elbow, manager Rob Thomson informed the beat (including Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer). He’ll be shut down from throwing pending further testing, writes Matt Gelb of the Athletic.
Thomson declined to provide specifics on the evaluation or a timeline for when the club would have more information. The skipper did suggest he’s at least somewhat alarmed by the situation. “Well, I’m concerned,” Thomson told reporters. “You’re always concerned when guys are sore. We’ll know more after we get the test back.”
It’s an ominous continuation of arm issues that have bothered the right-hander for the bulk of the year. Painter turned heads early in Spring Training and looked to have a strong chance at securing an Opening Day rotation spot before his 20th birthday. He sprained the UCL in his throwing elbow midway through exhibition play, however, requiring a multi-week shutdown.
That obviously killed any chance of Painter breaking camp. The Phils still held out hope for a midseason return. The 6’7″ hurler was scheduled to throw to hitters this week for the first time since March. Once he felt some soreness, they modified that plan to have him throw a bullpen session instead. Painter came out of that with renewed elbow discomfort, necessitating further testing.
With more uncertainty regarding Painter’s timetable for a return to game action, the Phillies could face some urgency to add rotation help in the coming weeks. Gelb reports that the Phils have told opposing clubs they were monitoring Painter’s rehab before deciding whether to turn to the trade market for starting pitching.
Philadelphia has an established front four of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Taijuan Walker. They’ve rotated through various options in the final spot. Bailey Falter got the first look but struggled to a 5.13 ERA in eight appearances before being optioned to the minors. Matt Strahm got a season-opening rotation job while Suárez was injured. He pitched well, but the Phils have seemingly preferred to use him in the bullpen to keep an eye on his workload.
Left-hander Cristopher Sánchez has had the job of late. The 26-year-old has had a strong month, working to a 2.84 ERA on the back of a massive 55.6% grounder rate through five starts. Whether Sánchez keeps performing at that level could also impact the deadline calculus for president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and his front office staff.
Not great.
Not great at all.
Not great at all whatsoever.
Not great, at all, whatsoever, anyway you “slice” it.
One step closer to the inevitable Tommy John surgery
I’m a hockey guy and a baseball guy, I can’t speak with tons of knowledge towards basketball or football BUT in no other position or sport can you see a surgery coming like you can see a Tommy John. You almost as soon as there is a “forearm sprain” or “elbow discomfort” just get the TJ and be ready 12-18 months from then
How do you treat painters elbow?
Lifestyle and home remedies
Your doctor may recommend the following self-care measures:
Rest. Avoid activities that aggravate your elbow pain.
Pain relievers. Try over-the-counter pain relievers, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB) or naproxen (Aleve).
Ice. Apply ice or a cold pack for 15 minutes three to four times a day.
Technique. Make sure that you are using proper technique for your activities and avoiding repetitive wrist motions.
Doctor: You know, you could have just taken two Alleve once a day for a week.
John Means: Wait. What?
Might be best to get it over with. He’s way ahead of schedule as far as development goes.
Just go ahead and have the damn surgery. If he gets it now he might return end of next year. Wait until the fall and he’s gone until ‘25.
Preemptive Tommy John surgery. That’s an excellent choice! May I interest you in our Extended Warranty program on your new Tommy? All Tommys are covered under this program. If your new Tommy fails, we will replace it for free! Just pay a nominal fee for shipping and handling.
TJ surgery is incoming
Painter reminds me of Alex Reyes. The only difference is that Reyes did pitch some MLB games.
The other difference is Alex Reyes always had questionable control that made some people question his future as a starter. Painter, not so much.
Painter is a much better prospect than Reyes was. Better control, no character issues, deeper arsenal. Reyes was no slouch and he was a ton of fun on callup but there were red flags even before the injuries wrecked his career. Too soon to start comping Painter to a guy like him IMO.
He’s 6’7” weighs 175 pounds and throws 1 million miles an hour. I’m not sure how this wasn’t accepted as being inevitable.
Tommy John Surgery. Another one. Good thing they didn’t get it done months ago. Lol cracks me up all these surgeries that could be avoided if these guys knew how to PITCH instead of 100 mph and high strike out percentages.
Phillies in need of a Painter.
Hopefully it’s not Painters Elbow
Well done.
Or Lance Painter.
No, Blue Baron. No!
Obvious to us armchair orthopedists that they should have just rebuilt that elbow after the original injury in spring but hey what do we know were always right.
How are the other SP prospects doing ?
Abel has been a bit underwhelming. Griff McGarry has looked solid but is issuing a bit too many walks.
He was fine and moving along and the Phillies made him start throwing a cutter and screwed his arm up. Awesome.
Not surprised. This smelled like the Seranthony beat around the bush.
Laughs in pain
I was at the March game when Painter made his debut vs. the Twins in Fort Myers, Fla. Along with about two dozen other Phillies fans, we hovered above the bullpen area in right field and watched Painter warm up.
Had so much loud pop on his pitches that I suspect someday blind people will attend his games just to listen to him pitch.
As I recall, he only pitched an inning that day and gave up a run. Don’t recall him pitching in another ST game.
If it’s a toss up between TJ surgery or rehabbing, get the TJ now.
Get the surgery
See ya’ in 2025 at the Jersey Shore Blue Claws..
very very bad news for the Phillies! we finally had a stud pitching Prospect about to make his debut Since Aaron Nola and now this. I have a hard time believing that this will not end up with him having Tommy John surgery within the next 2 months.
hopefully they don’t waste too much time and hoping it gets better with rest like they tried to do from spring training all the way up until this most recent setback if it’s looking like he has to have Tommy John, please just get it you’ll miss the rest of the season obviously and chances are you will miss all next year. if you don’t miss all the next year you might be eligible to return maybe in September of 2024 but my guess would be he would be ready to go for spring training in 2025
I can stop holding my breath now…TJ surgery and 18 months of waiting are coming up…almost every kid that throws 100 mph ends up under the knife…But I can tell you one who won’t (IMO)…Paul Skenes…he throws effortlessly and has the body to handle the stress on his elbow…I predict he ends up throwing the fastest pitch ever, which is 105.8 by Aroldis Chapman…Get better soon Andrew, my Scoresheet teams need you.
Just get the TJ surgery out of the way now. Maybe he’s back before the start of 2025 then.
Wow not the news that I expected. I’m glad he’s ok.
You treat Painters elbow with painters tape
Dude is gonna sit out the year then lose another 18 months when has Tommy John
I’m not saying get the TJ surgery or not but it always seems to turn into TJS in situations like this with a lot of wasted time resting.
It seems like it is going to happen regardless if you rest it or not. I think these pitchers who have partial tears or soreness should be out there a lot quicker and pushed a bit more. Its better to find out sooner rather than later and a pitcher can either compensate and deal with the pain or they can’t and have to get the surgery. Doesn’t ever seem to get better, just something you have to work around.
Hard to believe there are so many stupid baseball fans out there!!!!!