PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies have stuck by Andrew Painter through a mostly tumultuous rookie season -- but nobody's rotation spot is a permanent guarantee.
"It’s not like you just get endless chances, right?” interim manager Don Mattingly said earlier this month. “You have to perform."
Painter's latest opportunity came in Wednesday afternoon’s 12-4 loss against the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. The 23-year-old righty was tagged for six runs in just two innings -- the shortest start of his young career.
In two outings since Mattingly's comments, Painter has allowed 11 runs in just seven innings (14.14 ERA). Overall, he has a 7.06 ERA over 65 innings through the first 14 outings of his big league career.
Now, Painter’s next chance will come in the Minors. He was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley shortly after the game. The club said a corresponding move for the right-hander would be announced tomorrow.
The only Phillies pitcher with a worse ERA than Painter through his first 14 career outings (minimum 50 IP) was Ralph Head in 1923. He had a 7.32 ERA through 14 appearances on his way to finishing with a 6.66 ERA in his first -- and only -- Major League season.
Of course, the Phillies have much higher expectations for Painter. The organization and fans alike had been eagerly awaiting Painter's debut essentially from the time he was drafted 13th overall in 2021.
From there, Painter's story has been well-documented. He flashed his elite potential in the spring of 2022 only to undergo Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for all of '23 and '24. He spent the entire '25 season in the Minors, where he put up a 5.26 ERA over 26 starts.
Still, the Phillies believed Painter was ready when they put him on their 2026 Opening Day roster -- and he did nothing to suggest otherwise in his MLB debut.
Painter threw 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball while striking out eight batters in his first big league start against the Nationals on March 31. There have been a few other glimpses, too. He had seven strikeouts over five innings of one-run ball vs. the D-backs in start No. 3. He then had a three-start stretch in mid-May in which he had a 2.60 ERA over 17 1/3 innings.
But for the most part, it's been a steady dose of abbreviated outings marred by poor command, hard contact and an inability to miss bats.
“It’s very frustrating,” Painter said. “You want to go out there and have success all the time, so not being able to do that has been very hard.”
In his latest setback, Painter gave up a two-run homer to Kyle Stowers in the first inning on a 95.8 mph fastball over the heart of the plate. One inning later, he gave up a solo shot to Owen Caissie on a 95.5 mph four-seamer -- again, right over the plate.
“The home runs were kind of center-cut fastballs,” Mattingly said. “Usually you don't like to throw anything center-cut. … I know they're looking at it.”
The Marlins went 4-for-5 against Painter's fastball. Overall, opposing hitters are batting .404 (38-for-94) with 12 extra-base hits against the very pitch that once had Painter on the fast track to stardom.
“Just kind of leaving fastballs over the middle of the plate; fastball is getting hit right now,” Painter said. “So I think we just got to evaluate, and try to find out who I am as a pitcher right now.”
Though there aren't many viable alternatives at Triple-A, Alan Rangel -- who was scheduled to start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Wednesday night -- is one option to fill the role for now with the Phils deciding that Painter would be best served working through his problems at Triple-A. Of course, that's what they were hoping to see last season -- and it never came to fruition.
The benefit to keeping Painter in the Majors would be continuing to work with pitching coach Caleb Cotham and the rest of the Phillies’ pitching staff. Plus, he can be around established big league starters like Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo and Aaron Nola -- all of whom have earned Cy Young votes at some point in their careers.
But none of that outweighs performance.
“You still have to perform and get people out,” Mattingly said. “You like the fact that you're gaining experience by being around the big league pitching coach, being around Wheels and the other veteran pitchers -- all those things can help you.
“But you still have to perform.”