Oh Andrew Painter, what are the Phillies going to do with you? The former uber-prospect completely bottomed out in his first taste of the majors earlier this year, but has done yeoman’s work in righting the ship since receiving another chance in late July. Still, the 23-year-old is far from an ace, and Tuesday's dud showed why the Phillies and their fans would do well to remember that as they look ahead to the postseason.
Painter has had a rough go of it since beginning his professional career. The Florida high schooler was selected 13th overall back in 2021 by the Phils and carved up minor league competition in his first two seasons as a pro. Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery scuttled the entirety of his 2023 and 2024 campaigns, and he put up an ugly 5.40 ERA at Triple-A in his return to the mound in 2025.
Evidently the front office saw enough to hand Painter an Opening Day rotation spot this year and it completely blew up in their faces. The lanky right-hander got into 14 contests before being demoted to Lehigh Valley, in which he posted a ghastly 7.06 ERA across just 65 innings.
It seemed like that would be all she wrote in a tragic rookie campaign, but the Phils decided to roll the dice once again on the talented youngster, calling him up just before the trade deadline. Surprisingly, a new and improved Painter has been tremendous since receiving that second chance, coming into Tuesday night’s game having fired 40 ⅓ frames of 3.12 ERA ball since his promotion.
Andrew Painter has been rock solid since returning from the minors, but that doesn't mean he'll be a shutdown arm in October
Unfortunately for Painter and the Phils, Tuesday’s matchup against the Houston Astros showed exactly why everyone should hold their horses. The Floridian was lit up in the 2022 World Series rematch, surrendering five earned runs on a whopping 10 hits (two of them homers) and two walks.
Christian Walker hits a three-run shot off Andrew Painter as the Astros strike first in a series of two teams with their eyes on the postseason pic.twitter.com/vQJf0XKkyi
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 8, 2026
In fairness to Painter, he performed admirably in powering through the early strafing and completing five innings, saving the worn out bullpen from even more overuse. Still, putting his team in a quick 5-0 hole was exactly the kind of outing that got him demoted in the first place.
Given the fact that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski opted not to bring in any starting pitching help at the trade deadline, Painter should remain in the rotation for the remainder of the regular season barring injury - justifiably so, considering the gutsy turnaround he’s orchestrated over the last month-and-a-half.
However, a five-man rotation is not needed in the playoffs, and the Phils already have four better options. Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo form the most terrifying trio in the sport, while a resurgent Aaron Nola should be able to handle Game 4 duties whenever necessary.
That leaves Painter as the odd man out of a playoff rotation, with many observers speculating that he’ll be moved into the bullpen in October. That’s probably going to be the case, considering the dismal state of affairs that is the Phillies’ relief corps, but that doesn’t mean Painter should be used in high-leverage situations.
First and foremost, Painter has zero experience as a reliever. Only twice in his entire professional career has he appeared in games that he didn’t start, and both of those came earlier this season when he was used as the bulk man behind an opener. Not once has he ever been used in a true relief capacity.
Secondly, he still can’t be trusted with the season on the line. It’s been wonderful to see the fallen prospect get closer to establishing himself as a productive big leaguer, but a handful of solid starts over a span of barely more than a month is not enough to warrant handing him the ball in a close game that could determine the fate of the organization. Not only is it foolish to do tactically, it’s putting far too much pressure on a kid who’s already endured so much.
The Phillies need to win a championship with their current core in order to avoid going down in history as a talented team that choked when it mattered most. It’s up to the guys who have been here for half a decade to make good on that, not the 23-year-old who made his major league debut just a few months ago. Andrew Painter has certainly earned a spot on the postseason roster, and can play an important role taking down bulk innings out of the bullpen, but to throw him into the fire with the season on the line isn’t just unfair to him, it’s unfair to the fans and the entire team.
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