There was plenty of action this week for the Philadelphia Phillies. They clinched the NL East on Monday against the Chicago Cubs. They followed that up by clinching the first-round bye on Wednesday. Now they're fighting for the top spot in the National League as they eye home-field advantage beyond the NLDS.
We also saw the long-awaited return of outfielder Austin Hays. Then there was probably (hopefully) the last we'll see of beleaguered starter Taijuan Walker this season, who again didn't impress out of the bullpen on Tuesday.
Some news regarding Phillies top prospect Andrew Painter recently popped up on the radar, but, surprisingly not about his rehab.
Phillies News: Andrew Painter trade offer, Austin Hays’ revelation, bye week plans
The Phillies reportedly had a chance to land Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet at the trade deadline, but the cost was too high for the front office. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney and Jesse Rogers, the White Sox requested that top pitching prospect Andrew Painter be included in a package for Crochet, but the Phillies balked at moving Painter, and rightly so.
"The Phillies turned down the White Sox's request for top pitching prospect Andrew Painter as part of the package," according to Olney and Rogers.
While adding a pitcher to the rotation who had a 3.23 ERA and 12.59 K/9 at the time would have likely saved the Phillies from a lot of the second-half struggles out of the fifth rotation spot, the Phillies see Painter as a big piece of the future. Still just 21 years old, the team's No. 2 prospect has spent the entire 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery but should factor into the Phillies’ rotation plans at some point in 2025.
Austin Hays makes alarming revelation about his kidney infection
After going on the 10-day IL on Sept. 5 (retroactive to Sept. 2) with a kidney infection, outfielder Austin Hays spent three weeks recovering and trying to regain his strength. He finally turned a corner and made his return to the Phillies on Tuesday after playing a couple of rehab games in Triple-A.
He also revealed some startling news about how long he was actually sick before he realized that something was going on. He admitted that he started having symptoms around the time that he suffered his hamstring injury. That happened all the way back on Aug. 7, meaning he was dealing with the kidney infection for about a month before he went on the IL.
Luckily, it sounds like Hays is back to normal and ready to go for the postseason.
"I just feel like myself. I feel 100 percent," Hays said earlier this week. "I feel like I can do all the things on the field that I've been able to do my whole career. I don't feel limited, like when I was playing through this and we didn't know what was causing it ... I really truly physically feel like Austin Hays again. I feel like myself."
Phillies reveal plans for bye week
After playing in the Wild Card Series the last two postseasons, the Phillies will get five days off next week after earning a first-round bye as a top-two seed in the NL. Much has been made about bye teams struggling after the long layoff. The Phillies have put the Atlanta Braves, who had the bye, out of the playoffs in two straight years.
On Friday, ahead of their game with the Washington Nationals, the Phillies laid out their plans for the week off, per Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Here’s how their week will look:
Monday: Off day
Tuesday: Mandatory workout
Wednesday: Intrasquad game
Thursday: Optional workout
Friday: Mandatory workout
Shortstop Trea Turner, for one, isn’t worried about the time off, according to Phillies Nation’s Destiny Lugardo. Turner experienced a bye week in 2022 when his 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers got swept by the San Diego Padres in the NLDS.
“I think it’s more mental than anything,” Turner said about playing after the bye, per Lugardo. “In ‘22 we lost, but I really didn’t feel like it was because of that.”
As a group, the Phillies don’t seem concerned about the extended layoff. Many of them, including Bryce Harper, are relishing the chance for some downtime to recover from the bumps and bruises after a long season. Although, they’ll have to shake off any rust when they welcome a team yet to be decidedto Citizens Bank Park on Oct. 5 to open the NLDS.