One good game is certainly not enough to redeem former top prospect Andrew Painter’s wretched year. The former can’t-miss talent has missed entirely in his first crack at the big leagues, but he did turn in one excellent performance on Friday night, despite another heartbreaking Philadelphia Phillies loss. With the trade deadline just days away, could Painter have boosted his value enough to be back in trade conversations?
The Phillies are in a tricky spot as their aging, lifeless roster needs a great deal of help in order to truly be considered World Series contenders. The only way to acquire reinforcements at this point is through trade, and the Phils don’t have much young talent to ship out in deals for established veterans. Simply put: they’re stuck.
A quality outfield bat, a high-leverage bullpen arm and an innings-eating starting pitcher are the bare minimum that erstwhile president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will need to acquire this week, with plenty of other spots that could use upgrades as well. Unfortunately, the horrific state of the farm system Dombrowski presides over just doesn’t have the prospect capital to get multiple major deals done.
The Phillies entered this season with a trio of high-upside youngsters that were thought to be the next core of the team: Andrew Painter, Justin Crawford and Aidan Miller. All three have been major disappointments for various reasons, but Painter is certainly the biggest let down, as he posted an ERA north of 7.00 in his first crack at the major leagues before the team finally admitted defeat and demoted him to Triple-A.
Andrew Painter's unexpected solid start vs. Orioles could boost his trade value ahead of the deadline
The 23-year-old languished in the minors for a little over a month before receiving an unexpected call-up on Friday to take the hill against the Baltimore Orioles. Fans groaned when Painter allowed the first two batters of the game to score, and it looked like the former wunderkind was well on his way to another meltdown.
I guess this is my yearly lesson not to tweet stupid nonsense during a game. Painter pitched pretty well after that first inning. Got out of some jams. I rescind my idiotic tweet. https://t.co/W76cGMbocw
— John Stolnis (@JohnStolnis) August 1, 2026
Miraculously, the 2021 first-rounder pulled out of his early tailspin and went on to fire six innings of shutout ball from that point on. All told, Painter needed only 82 pitches to deliver a quality start, yielding just six baserunners on three hits and three walks while punching out six batters.
Phillies fans should be wary of expecting Painter to parlay this surprisingly solid showing into a dominant second half of the season, but it may have moved the needle just enough for him to help the team in another way. The club has very few blue chip prospects to offer up in exchange for difference-making additions, and considering his two-year layoff due to Tommy John surgery and uninspiring return to the mound, Painter was not among them when he toed the rubber on Friday night.
Rival organizations almost certainly view the Floridian as damaged goods, but his first positive showing in the majors in quite some time has to count for something. If another club still believes in Painter’s talent, perhaps one inspiring start before Monday’s deadline will be enough to make him the centerpiece of a major deal.
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