Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Monday that Painter (elbow) likely won't pitch in the majors until "July-ish," Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
Coming back from Tommy John surgery, Painter will be held out of spring training action before eventually getting ramped up in the minors. The young right-hander threw 103.2 innings in 2022 and none in 2023 before tossing just 15.2 frames in the Arizona Fall League this year. While a debut around midseason looks possible for Painter, it will depend on how he's pitching at the time and whether there's a need at the big-league level. The Phillies further bolstered their rotation depth with their recent trade for Jesus Luzardo and signing of swingman Joe Ross, giving them the protection they need in order to proceed cautiously with Painter.