There is a lot to reflect on for the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason.
After being eliminated in the NLDS by their bitter rivals, many players have voiced their disappointment and frustrations with how things ended for the second straight year.
That could usher in some changes, although it’s going to be difficult to overhaul this roster based on the contracts in place and lack of attractive trade pieces they have as a result.
One area the Phillies desperately need to improve is their fifth starter role, something that was a complete disaster for them coming down the stretch based on Taijuan Walker putting up the worst season of his career and the other options not being ready to pitch at the Major League level.
Philadelphia likely will give Walker another shot based on the $36 million he has remaining on his contract over the next two years, something they alluded to when he was moved into the bullpen.
But president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, also dropped a bombshell when discussing their superstar pitching prospect, Andrew Painter, and the role he could have in 2025.
“… I do think he’ll be pitching at the big-league level at some point in ’25,” he said per Matt Gelb of The Athletic.
That is a major development.
Painter has not pitched in two seasons following his Tommy John surgery, but the Phillies sent him to the Arizona Fall League so he can begin the process of making his return to the mound for this franchise.
Once viewed as the best pitching prospect in minor league baseball back in 2023 following his eye-popping 1.56 ERA across 22 starts at three levels the last time he pitched, the 21-year-old has a huge future within this organization that seemingly will come at some point next season.
However, how much he’s used becomes the question, and Dombrowski is already going into it with the mindset that Painter will be limited.
“What we’re going to have to figure out is how we get him to pitch next year. Because you’ll still be limited with the number of innings he can pitch. And I don’t know the exact number of innings at this point; even we haven’t discussed that. But he’s not going to be able to go out there like a big-league starter and pitch every five or six days and pitch a whole season and have 180 innings. He’s going to be limited much more than that,” he added.
That was largely to be expected, whether he was pitching with Philadelphia or not.
Still, even the possibility of having Painter in the rotation at some point next season is a huge boost that could give the Phillies an even better starting unit than they had last year.
