Phillies medical staff finally recommends Tommy John Surgery for No. 1 prospect Andrew Painter
The Philadelphia Phillies’ medical staff has officially recommended Tommy John Surgery for their No. 1 overall prospect, Andrew Painter.
Andrew Painter to undergo Tommy John surgery
The first sign of discomfort on Painter’s elbow came in early March after his 2023 Spring Training debut. Not wanting to take any chances, the Phillies shut Painter down with a right proximal UCL sprain just a week after the initial discomfort occurred.
At the time, the Phillies’ medical staff did not think Tommy John Surgery was necessary and that Painter’s elbow would heal naturally.
Painter didn’t pick up a baseball from the time of his injury in March until April 10.
He then started playing catch before progressing to bullpen sessions at the beginning of June. He was initially set to face hitting in live batting practice in early July, but instead, was sent was sent for “further evaluation” after experiencing elbow discomfort during his rehab assignment.
To be very clear: This is the Phillies No. 1 prospect who spent the previous four months rehabbing an elbow injury and only made one Spring Training start on March 1st and now 139 days after the initial injury, the organization’s medical staff is recommending Tommy John Surgery.
…Yikes.
Obviously, that sucks to hear from the Phillies No. 1 prospect but at the same time, the kid is just 20 years old and elbow surgeries for hard-throwing, young pitchers these days is somewhat more common than it has been in year’s past.
There are 219 pitchers who have appeared in the majors this season who have undergone Tommy John surgery at one point in their career. That’s 35% of pitchers around the league. Since opening day of 2023, at least 28 pitchers ranging from Single A to the majors have had Tommy John surgery, and that’s just the confirmed cases.via Yahoo! Sports
Obviously, all pitchers and players are different but here’s a rough estimate on recovery time. Painter getting surgery now would put his timetable to return to the Phillies for 2025 Spring Training.
It will certainly test the patience of Phillies fans, but when 2025 rolls around, Painter will only be 22 years old as of April 10th.
Trade Deadline Impact: It will be interesting to see what Dave Dombrowski do with their other pitching prospects at the MLB Trade Deadline this season.
With the expectation that Painter would be in the majors later this month now lost, does that mean the Phillies will hold back on their other two top pitching prospects in Mick Abel and Griff McGarry?
We’ll see how it all shakes over the next few weeks.
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I can’t believe we are not going to see Andrew Painter until 2025! After we all thought he was an option this year or next year! Hopefully he comes back strong and healthy!