CLEARWATER, Fla — In many ways, Andrew Painter was a luxury for the Phillies entering the 2025 season. That's not going to be the case in 2026.
Bryce Harper said as much Sunday when he arrived at Spring Training.
"...Obviously, Painter ... had a tough year in Triple-A coming back from Tommy John [surgery]. That first year coming back from Tommy John is really tough. So I'm hoping he bounces back this year. We need him to. We have no idea what Wheels [Zack Wheeler] is going to look like, we have no idea what Wheels is gonna be like. We all hope that obviously Wheels comes back and is Zack Wheeler, because there's nobody better in baseball when he's going good. But we have no idea. When you lose a guy like Ranger [Suárez], that's a really tough thing. You're expected to fill the shoes of two guys that are really, really good. So, I hope he can do it, and we definitely need him to do it. We have the confidence in his ability to do it, and hope he has the confidence in himself to get out there every day and do his job."
The Phillies still have a really strong one-two punch at the top of their rotation with Cristopher Sánchez — last year's NL Cy Young Award runner-up — and Jesús Luzardo. But things do get a bit dicey after that.
While he's not expected to be ready for Opening Day, the vibes seem to be very positive around Wheeler right now. But it is true that he's coming off of thoracic outlet decompression surgery and will turn 36 in May, so there's definitely some uncertainty with Wheeler.
Pretty much from Day 1, Harper was one of Suárez's biggest advocates. There were reasons to be skeptical about giving Suárez a long-term contract, though his coolness on the mound and ability to pitch in variety of different roles will unquestionably be mixed.
Harper didn't mention Aaron Nola, but he's probably the biggest question mark in the entire rotation after posting a 6.01 ERA across 17 starts last season.
The Phillies do still have Taijuan Walker — who posted a serviceable 4.08 ERA across 123 2/3 innings last season — along with other camp options like Alan Rangel, Bryse Wilson and Tucker Davidson.
But it's clear that with uncertainty after Sánchez and Luzardo, the Phillies do need Painter in a way they didn't necessarily a season ago. He posted a 5.40 ERA in 22 starts at Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year, never earning the call-up to the majors. It's fair to say the Phillies didn't manage expectations well for a pitcher coming off of Tommy John surgery. It's not unreasonable to think Painter will have much better control in his second season removed from the procedure. As Harper said, the Phillies need him to.
Andrew Painter talks to @TimKellySports about his bullpen session today, throwing to J.T. Realmuto and more. pic.twitter.com/qtlMkbFuE0
