Phillies send Andrew Painter down to triple A after another ugly start
Painter’s hard-to-watch rookie season got even worse on Wednesday when he allowed six runs on six hits, including two homers, in two innings. Hours later, he was demoted to Lehigh Valley.
The bullpen door swung open as the third inning began, and the question couldn’t be held back any longer.
Can Andrew Painter keep pitching for the Phillies?
The answer: Not right now.
Painter was sent to triple A Wednesday evening, a few hours after his hard-to-watch rookie season got even uglier. The Marlins pounded him for six runs on six hits, including two homers, and knocked him out after two innings of a 12-4 matinee rout in Citizens Bank Park.
And so, Painter heads back to the minor leagues with a 1-8 record and a 7.06 ERA, the second-worst mark among 115 pitchers with at least 60 innings.
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The Phillies announced Painter’s demotion at 6:15 p.m., a little more than two hours after the final out. They will make a corresponding roster move Thursday before opening a three-game series against the Mets.
After the game, interim manager Don Mattingly wouldn’t commit to having Painter make his next start, saying “it’s something we’ll probably talk about.”
The conversation happened quickly. After Mattingly spoke with reporters, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and general manager Preston Mattingly poked their heads into his office, just as they do after most games.
It seems Painter was Topic A.
The situation is nuanced. The Phillies remain bullish on Painter as a high-end starter. For now, they’ve asked only that the 23-year-old righty keeps them in games. He hasn’t done that lately, allowing six, five, six, and four runs in his last four starts and pitching a total of 15 innings for a 12.60 ERA.
So, although the Phillies continue to believe in Painter, and while they don’t have appealing alternatives in triple A, they couldn’t allow him to continue to pitch every fifth game.
“The fastball’s just getting hit right now,” Painter said after the game, before the demotion. “So, you know, I think we’ve just got to evaluate. Just trying to find out who I am as a pitcher right now.”
And who is he?
“I’ve had to lean heavily on spin,” Painter said. “Sweepers and sliders have been great for me. Earlier in the year, the changeup was great, and right now, I’m kind of searching for it.”
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More than anything, though, Painter can’t locate his fastball. At least not the one that overpowered hitters in the low minors.
It hasn’t been the same since he returned from a two-season absence after Tommy John elbow surgery in July 2023. It came and went last year in triple A, where he had a 5.40 ERA in 22 starts. Major leaguers were hitting .382 and slugging .573 against it entering the week.
And that was before the Marlins’ Kyle Stowers and Owen Caissie teed off on center-cut heaters for two-run and solo homers, respectively, as Painter left the Phillies in 2-0 and 6-2 holes.
“I don’t know if he feels like he can really get down the mound and really get after guys because he’s searching for that feeling that he had before,” catcher Garrett Stubbs said. “And it’s really hard.”
Painter’s fastball velocity hasn’t dipped. His trust in the pitch, however, clearly has. Mattingly wants Painter to pitch with more “aggression.” Painter has talked about having greater conviction.
Neither is apparent.
“It’s just trying to get him to get out there and have that dog mentality that Philadelphia represents,” Stubbs said. “Go out and just kind of say [bleep] it and get after ‘em.
“He knows that it’s in there. He just needs to go find it.”
Painter has appeared downcast after recent starts. He sat facing his locker, dressed in full uniform, last Friday in Milwaukee. Even as Mattingly and pitching coach Caleb Cotham highlighted the positives, the results have been wholly negative.
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Painter said his confidence is “about as good as it can be right now under the circumstances.” But he’s also human. Mattingly guessed Painter’s belief in himself “almost has to waver some.”
“He’s been pretty resilient to this point,” Mattingly said. “But I’m sure it’s wavering.”
Painter will search for his fastball in Lehigh Valley. His replacement isn’t apparent. The triple-A rotation consists of Tucker Davidson (6.50 ERA), Alan Rangel (3.74), Bryse Wilson (6.29), Brian Keller (4.35), and Chuck King (4.02). Rangel, the best of the bunch, started Wednesday night for the IronPigs and could slide into Painter’s spot.
Mattingly said the Phillies were encouraged by Painter’s between-starts bullpen session. But Painter’s fastball failed him again. And after a 33-pitch second inning, which included an 11-pitch at-bat that ended with Xavier Edwards’ two-out infield single, Mattingly went to the bullpen.
Painter said he can feel it in his hand when he throws a fastball that has “a little more life.” He’s trying to recapture that feeling more consistently. It’s elusive.
“It’s tough,” he said after the shortest start by a non-opener Phillies starter since Jesús Luzardo lasted two innings last July 4. “You can have the best secondary stuff in the world, but everything kind of plays off the fastball.
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“We’ve been searching for some things, and it’s gotten a little better than what it was. But it’s still obviously not to the extent of what it was pre-[surgery]. So, just trying to make adjustments and figure out what’s going to have the most success.”
Maybe the answers are in triple A.
“It’s going out there and having a few good outings in a row where you can keep getting after it and know that my stuff’s going to be in the zone and get guys out like he wants to,” Stubbs said. “And a lot of it probably is that confidence piece, right?
“The expectations are high, and everyone wants to win, and the city wants to win. He’ll get there. I have full confidence that he’ll get there.”
Not before taking a detour.
No matter what moves the Phillies make before the trade deadline Monday, they will have to fix some of their issues internally. Chief among them: Trea Turner's defense at shortstop. And that's where infield coach Bobby Dickerson comes in. Dickerson sat down with "Phillies Extra," The Inquirer's baseball podcast, to discuss Turner's struggles, the problems with analytics in measuring defense, his unique coaching style, and more. Watch here.
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