Upon deciding Wednesday evening to send Andrew Painter back to triple A, several Phillies officials wondered how the rookie pitcher might react.
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“When you tell him,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski recalled pitching coach Caleb Cotham saying, “at that point, I don’t know how much more he’s going to hear.”
But Painter is also self-aware enough to know that the Phillies couldn’t keep him in the starting rotation. Not with a 1-8 record and 7.06 ERA that was the second-worst mark among 115 pitchers with at least 60 innings.
“He was understanding,” Dombrowski said. “He was sitting there and we talked to him, and it wasn’t like he said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘I have to get better. I have to do better. I understand that.’”
Specifically, Painter must improve a fastball that has been hit hard in his first major league season. Opponents are batting .404 and slugging .660 on the heater, which Painter has struggled to command. In giving up six runs in two innings Wednesday, he left two fastballs over the plate for homers to the Marlins’ Kyle Stowers and Owen Caissie.
Dombrowski said Painter will throw multiple bullpen sessions for Lehigh Valley before making another start, likely in “a week or 10 days.”
As Painter goes in search of a fastball that hasn’t been the same since he returned last year from Tommy John surgery, Dombrowski said the Phillies believe they identified the root of the issue.
“Most of it is delivery-oriented,” Dombrowski said. “That’s what it comes down to. Because when he’s done some things with his delivery, which is going more directly to the plate rather than spinning off, he’s had more life. And you see it at times.”
The Phillies haven’t settled on how they will fill Painter’s spot in the rotation. One possibility: righty Bryse Wilson, who was selected from triple A and added to the 40-man roster.
Wilson, 28, has a 4.82 ERA in 163 major league games, including 57 starts. He recently exercised an upward-mobility clause in his minor league contract, which may have influenced the Phillies’ decision to call him up now.
In 11 starts for Lehigh Valley, Wilson had a 6.29 ERA. But he hasn’t allowed a run in 12 innings over his last three starts.
Regardless, the Phillies are hopeful that Painter’s return to triple A won’t be long-lasting.
“He was searching,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “It felt like he was working on something in between [starts], and trying to figure it out, and trying to compete and all that. You’re still going to have to compete at triple A, but the result is not necessarily the most important thing. It’s more about what you’re doing and how you feel about it.
“I think he’s just going to come back more sure of himself, what he wants to do.”
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Banks demoted
With the Phillies in need of a fresh arm after the bullpen worked seven innings in relief of Painter, lefty Tanner Banks was optioned to triple A. Right-hander Seth Johnson got called up.
Banks, who began the season as the No. 2 lefty in the bullpen behind Jose Alvarado, has a 5.86 ERA in 26 appearances. He gave up two homers Wednesday against the Marlins after allowing one to that point in the season.
“In general, he just has to be better,” Mattingly said. “This gives him a chance to reset, work on his stuff, and just get himself back on the right track.”
Johnson has dominated in triple A, with a 1.33 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 27 innings. The 27-year-old righty was acquired from the Orioles at the trade deadline in 2024 for reliever Gregory Soto.
Surgery for García
Right fielder Adolis García will have season-ending surgery Wednesday to repair a torn lat muscle near his right shoulder. The projected timetable for a return to play is 6-8 months, according to the Phillies.
García was injured on a throw to home plate in a June 10 game in Toronto. He signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Phillies in December and batted .195 with seven homers and a .599 OPS. Despite his lack of production at the plate, he was a superb defender in right field.
The Phillies were shopping for a right-handed bat even before losing Garcia for the season. Lefty-hitting Gabriel Rincones Jr., recalled last week from triple A, will get the majority of at-bats in right field against right-handed pitching. Rincones missed the first two months of the season with knee inflammation.
“He’s going to get that chance,” Dombrowski said. “We’ll see what happens. They felt he was swinging the bat well [in triple A], and he was starting to play every single day. So, we’ll see.”
Extra bases
The Phillies signed lefty Kolby Allard to a minor-league contract and sent him to triple A as rotation depth. Allard, 28, had a 5.00 ERA for the Phillies in seven games (four starts) in 2024. … After a rare Friday off, the Phillies and Mets will continue their series at 7:15 p.m. Saturday. Cristopher Sánchez (8-3, 1.82 ERA) is scheduled to face Mets righty Freddy Peralta (5-5, 3.90).
Say this for the Phillies: They are what we thought they were, a playoff contender led by two aces atop the starting rotation and a dominant closer. Pitching coach Caleb Cotham joins “Phillies Extra,” The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, to discuss the state of the Phillies’ pitching, from the success of Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler to the struggles of Andrew Painter. Watch here.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Previous episodes: Larry Bowa | Joe Maddon | Rhys Hoskins | Terry Francona | Aaron Rowand | Hunter Pence | Paco Figueroa | Gage Wood | Scott Boras
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