Phillies fans feel Marlins' Eury Pérez pain after Andrew Painter's injury saga

Just last fall, the Miami Marlins traveled to Citizens Bank Park to battle the Philadelphia Phillies in a Wild Card showdown. The Marlins were a team seemingly on the rise, and that was even without its top pitching prospect, Eury Pérez, who had already been shut down due to reaching his inning limit.

As it turned out, not having Pérez on the mound didn't make a lick of difference in the quick two-game set, as the Phillies swept the Marlins out of Philadelphia and the postseason. Since then, things have gone downhill for the Phillies' NL East rivals.

After Miami lost multiple pitchers to various ailments this spring, Pérez, the young stud of the rotation, went down. Initially diagnosed with elbow inflammation and prescribed rest, the news on Thursday is that the 20-year-old phenom will be the latest hurler to go under the knife.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the right-hander will undergo Tommy John surgery and be out all of 2024. And there's a good bet he'll be out most of 2025 while he recovers.

Phillies fans feel for Marlins fans while waiting for Andrew Painter

It's a familiar-sounding scenario.

A top pitching prospect — not just in the organization but in all of baseball — is felled by what at first seems like something that can be managed with rest and rehab, but eventually leads to surgery.

Unfortunately for Phillies fans, this scenario hits close to home. As much as Miami is a division rival, it's hard not to feel some sympathy, as the pain hits all too close to home.

Phillies faithful went through this ordeal just a year ago when the team's top prospect, Andrew Painter, hit the IL with elbow problems before finally succumbing to the need for surgery in July. This was after a brief but tantalizing spring training when it looked like the then-19-year-old might have a shot at making the big league roster.

Pérez was the Marlins' No. 1 prospect when he made his debut last season and pitched himself out of prospect status. Painter is still the Phillies' No. 1 prospect, and No. 27 overall in MLB Pipeline's rankings, despite missing all of 2023.

The NL East has lost another uber-talented arm, robbing the Marlins of a budding superstar and robbing baseball of another talented pitcher.

In an alternate universe, we would be watching electrifying pitching duels between two of the most hyped young pitchers in the game this season. Instead, we won't see Painter back until 2025, as MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reported. Pérez will be lucky if he makes it back by the end of next season.

All Phillies and Marlins fans can do is wait and dream about what might be in store in 2025 and beyond.