The Philadelphia Phillies won 95 games in 2024 and cruised to a National League East title before ultimately being knocked out by the New York Mets in the NLDS.
This offseason, they’ve been relatively quiet but did recently trade for left-hander Jesus Luzardo. They have a lot of depth on the pitching side that should get them through the 2025 season.
Top prospect Andrew Painter had been delayed due to Tommy John surgery, but he’ll finally make his return at some point next year.
According to Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer , the Phillies have devised a plan for the young right-hander.
“As Painter returns from Tommy John elbow surgery, the Phillies intend to wait until “July-ish to call him up, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Monday. The idea is to save most of the 21-year-old top prospect’s limited innings for the latter half of the season and, if all goes as planned, the playoffs,” Lauber wrote.
Obviously, Painter won’t be ready at the start of the season, and Lauber also explains that he’ll throw during spring training. However, he likely won’t see any game action.