3 ways the Phillies can screw up the trade deadline

The Phillies can screw up the trade deadline by selling low on Andrew Painter

The Phillies were dealt devastating news with Andrew Painter needing to undergo Tommy John Surgery. With the elbow injury he's dealt with it felt like he wasn't going to debut this season anyway, but the surgery knocks him out for the entire 2024 season as well.

Painter is the Phillies number one prospect and is one of, if not the best pitching prospects in baseball. His stock will certainly take a hit because of the Tommy John, but that should not be reason for the Phillies to sell low.

I understand the team is trying to win right now and in 2024, and Painter won't be contributing toward those goals at all, but still, with this kind of talent you don't just give him away.

If the Phillies can land a superstar like Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto, giving up Andrew Painter, while hard, would be easier to stomach. Doing so to land a player in a lesser tier like Lucas Giolito would be a brutal trade for the Phillies.

It's frustrating that this guy can't contribute at the MLB level until 2025 at the earliest, but the 20-year-old is simply too talented to give up on for anything less than a legit star that you're getting in return.