Painter trades zeros with offseason mentor in long-awaited pitchers' duel

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- It was more than three years ago that Max Scherzer wrapped up his offseason training with a simple parting message to a then-19-year-old Andrew Painter.

"I remember talking about it in 2022, going into '23 [after he had] signed in New York," Painter said. "He was telling me, 'You better stay healthy so we can pitch against each other.'"

Painter, of course, did not stay healthy.

"I, obviously, didn't do my part," said Painter, who made just one start the following spring before ultimately undergoing Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the 2023 and '24 seasons.

Well, it may have taken a lot longer than Painter would have hoped, but the two finally crossed paths on a big league field on Saturday afternoon at BayCare Ballpark.

"Here we are a couple years later, and it finally happens," Painter said following the Phillies' 1-0 loss to the Blue Jays. "Definitely glad we got to go up against each other."

Painter has bumped into Scherzer each of the past few offseasons at Cressey Sports Performance, a popular training facility amongst professional athletes in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The relationship started in that aforementioned 2022-23 offseason when Scherzer was with the National League East-rival Mets.

Rivalry aside, Painter saw it as an opportunity to learn from a three-time Cy Young winner and a World Series champion.

“He's really good at what he does, obviously," Painter said. "I’ve learned a lot from him. He’s big on the prep work and the timing of the offseason, kind of the ramp-up process. You don’t want to get started too early, you don’t want to get going too late -- you want a nice easy build-up without any spikes in it. He’s been a big mentor for that.”

That advice hasn't been so simple for Painter, who is coming off his first fully normal offseason since their meeting. It was just a few weeks later that he would make his 2023 spring debut -- an eye-opening start against the Twins -- only to deal with left elbow soreness in the days that followed.

Painter ultimately underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2023 and missed the entire season. He rehabbed for the entire '24 campaign before making a promising return in the Arizona Fall League.

Even then, the Phillies brought him along slowly leading up to last season with the intention of backloading his innings later in the year.

Now, while Painter finally had a normal offseason, it was Scherzer who had a bit of a unique one. The latter just recently signed with the Blue Jays, ending a winter-long stint as a free agent.

Saturday marked the first start of the spring for the 41-year-old Scherzer, who is just looking to extend a Hall of Fame-worthy career. It was the second spring outing for the 22-year-old Painter, who is looking to jumpstart his MLB career, albeit a couple years behind his intended schedule.

Scherzer was his vintage self against the Phillies, throwing four no-hit innings. His mentee, meanwhile, battled his way through three scoreless innings.

“I think that’s just part of pitching, making those adjustments," Painter said. "I didn’t have my best stuff today."

Painter did not strike out any batters and forced only three swings and misses. He allowed just one hit and one walk (which he immediately erased with a pickoff) while extending out to 34 pitches.

"Control and command were off a little bit in the first inning," manager Rob Thomson said. "But I thought the second inning was better than the first and the third inning was better than the second. So the encouraging thing, to me, is that it didn't spiral on him."

That was certainly part of the issue last season for Painter, who finished with a 5.26 ERA over 26 Minor League starts. The callup that he -- and so many hopeful Phillies fans -- had highly anticipated going into the season never came.

Painter shouldn't have to wait much longer for his MLB debut. He's expected to break camp with the Phillies this time around.

Painter spent this offseason focusing on how to be ready for 2026 instead of dwelling on what went wrong in 2025. He lost some weight to report to camp in peak physical shape. He timed his ramp-up. He was locked in for every workout and every throwing session.

He put extra emphasis on the offseason -- just like Scherzer.

The pair, however, didn’t exactly have a big happy reunion on Saturday. Most starting pitchers tend to keep to themselves on days they pitch … especially the notoriously competitive Scherzer.

"No, no. Didn't want to bother him today," Painter said with a smile. "Not on a start day."