Philadelphia Phillies Boss Reveals Future Plan for Andrew Painter

The Philadelphia Phillies prospect has a clear plan for the future.

Feb 23, 2023; Clearwater, FL, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter (76) during photo day at BayCare Ballpark. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

While the Philadelphia Phillies season ending the way it did was a major disappointment, there's reason to be excited about the future of this organization.

They still have an incredibly talented core, and with some young players coming up from their farm system, the Phillies should be in a good position to win a World Series eventually. 

Philadelphia's top pitching prospect, Andrew Painter, also returned to the mound recently in the Arizona Fall League. Saturday was the first time he's pitched since July of 2023, throwing in two innings and topping out at 100 MPH. 

Painter wasn't as good as he typically is, allowing three hits, a home run, and two earned runs.

However, as long as his fastball velocity is still there, he should be fine in the long term. 

Regarding the long-term outlook on the right-hander, there have been questions about what the Phillies will decide to do with him. Some believe he could be a starter, while others have speculated he could be a bullpen arm. 

Philadelphia's president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, put an end to the bullpen rumors on Tuesday, saying Painter will be a starter moving forward.

"He's going to be a starting pitcher. I don't think there's any question about that," Dombrowski said, according to Jeff Kerr of CBS News. "Now he has to earn a starting position with the big league club whenever it gets to that point. He is a very, very talented individual. It's apparent he's healthy, and he'll get a limited number of innings in the Arizona Fall League and then be in a position (where) we're gonna have to make a determination on how we're going to use his innings next year. He's not going to be a guy we can count on to throw 180 innings at the major league level."

Dombrowski's main focus is for the 21-year-old to get healthy. If he does so, he sounds confident he'll return to the elite arm he once was. 

"The rust is just coming off," Dombrowski said. "The other day, he was throwing great and he gave up two runs, which is very unusual for him. He usually doesn't ever even give up two runs. He'll get better and better every time he goes out there, so the rust will come off."

With a clear need to improve their fifth starter spot on the Big League team, Painter could be in line to earn that role in Spring Training.

His injury history doesn't help his case for winning that job next spring, but there's reason to believe he could.