The Phillies didn’t land the starting pitcher many expected them to chase at the trade deadline, and Andrew Painter keeps making that decision look a lot less risky.
Painter’s latest step forward came against the St. Louis Cardinals, when he gave Philadelphia the kind of outing the club has been hunting all along.
He worked 5.1 innings, threw 93 pitches, and only the sixth time in 17 Big League outings did he even make it into the sixth. The Phillies needed length badly with the bullpen getting worn down, and Painter delivered it.
He allowed only two hits and struck out six, doing enough to keep the game in hand while exiting with the Phillies ahead. Two earned runs crossed against him, and three walks helped account for the damage, but the overall shape of the start was exactly what Philadelphia needed from that spot in the rotation.
That performance came after a shaky first start following the deadline, when he was pulled after four innings because his hamstring ailment became too much to overcome on the mound. Before that, though, Painter had already shown why the front office viewed him as more than just another option.
His return to the big club on July 31 against the Baltimore Orioles was a strong one. Painter went six effective innings, gave up two runs in the first, then settled in and didn’t allow another run the rest of the way. Philadelphia lost that game 6-4, but Painter still checked the boxes: he covered innings, gave the team a chance, and left with the Phillies ahead.
That kind of outing matters because the No. 5 spot in the rotation has been a problem area for Philadelphia. And when Dave Dombrowski explained the club’s thinking, he made it clear the Phillies weren’t interested in a move just for the sake of making one.
“If we were going to do it and add somebody, they would have had to be significantly better, in our opinion, than Andrew (Painter), than just acquiring another arm,” Dombrowski said, via Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic (subscription required).
That stance carried some risk. There were starting pitchers who moved - Kevin Gausman, Freddy Peralta, Clay Holmes and Robbie Ray among them - and the Phillies likely could have been in the mix at prices that were within reach.
Instead, they stayed put, and Painter has started to justify that call. For the second time in three starts since his promotion, he struck out six. He also reached the 90-pitch mark for only the fifth time in those 17 Big League appearances, another sign that he’s stretching out and settling in.
This is the version of Painter the Phillies were expecting when the season began. And now, just when they need it most, he’s giving them a real shot to hold their place in the National League playoff field.
In Other News...
Phillies Already Created A Bryce Harper Problem They Couldnt Afford
The Phillies built this latest infield shuffle around a simple idea: get Alec Bohm to first base after the Luis Arraez acquisition and slide Bryce Harper back to the outfield to cover the rest. In theory, it gave Philadelphia a cleaner alignment and let the club keep its bats in the lineup. In practice, it quickly reminded everyone why moving Harper off first was never going to be painless, especially after he had not played the outfield since early 2022.
Harpers return to right field has already come with a health concern, and the timing only sharpens the scrutiny on the rest of the arrangement. Bohm, meanwhile, remains entrenched in the middle of the order even though the production has not followed, leaving the Phillies with a spot that is both awkward defensively and underwhelming offensively. For a team trying to sort out its post-deadline shape, that is the kind of problem that can linger if the answers do not start coming soon. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Farm Shakeup Just Put One New Arm In The Spotlight
The Phillies farm system took another hit when the club sent right-hander Ramon Marquez to the Giants in a deal that brought back second baseman Luis Arraez and right-hander Caleb Kilian. Any move that trims pitching depth tends to ripple quickly through an organization, and this one arrives at a time when Philadelphia is already leaning hard on its upper-level arms. That has helped push a few newer names into sharper focus, including Juan Parra and Alex McFarlane, both of whom have climbed into the teams top 10 prospect mix.
McFarlane, in particular, has turned enough heads with his work between Triple-A and Double-A to land on the radar for a possible major league look, especially with bullpen injuries creating openings. The Phillies have reason to monitor him closely now, because the path from depth piece to real option can open fast once the big league relief corps starts thinning out. And while Parras rise is a story in its own right, the more immediate question is which arm Philadelphia trusts next if it needs help sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Turn To Intriguing Bullpen Arm As Relief Pressure Mounts
With the bullpen taking on a heavier workload in recent games, the Phillies made a fresh move to add another arm to the mix by recalling right-handed pitcher Alex McFarlane from Triple-A. McFarlane has put together a strong minor league season, posting a 1.83 ERA across 36 outings, and he already has one scoreless appearance in the majors on his rsum.
The shuffle gives Philadelphia another option to help manage the late innings, even if the exact role is still taking shape. To make room on the roster, the Phillies sent Alan Rangel back down, leaving the team to see whether McFarlane can turn his recent run of consistency into a meaningful boost at the big-league level. [Read more 🡒]