The Philadelphia Phillies have struggled to recapture the magic of their 2022 World Series run, suffering painful postseason exits in back-to-back years.
In 2023, they held 2-0 and 3-2 leads in the NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks, only to collapse at home in the final two games. The following year, after securing their first NL East title since 2011 and earning a first-round bye, they were stunned by division rival New York Mets in the NLDS.
The common denominator in these playoff failures? A disappearing offense. The Phillies managed only three runs across Games 6 and 7 of the 2023 NLCS, and their 2024 postseason performance was even worse scoring just 12 runs in four games while hitting a miserable .186 with a .597 OPS and 38 strikeouts.
While many fans have pointed fingers at the lineup’s inconsistency in high-pressure moments, Phillies owner John Middleton has a different theory on why his team hasn’t lifted the Commissioner’s Trophy: the injury to top pitching prospect Andrew Painter.
Middleton: Phillies Would Have Won with a Healthy Painter
Speaking with The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber, Middleton expressed his belief that the Phillies would have secured at least one, if not multiple, championships had Painter not suffered a serious elbow injury requiring Tommy John surgery in 2023.
The 19-year-old phenom was poised to claim the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation before an elbow issue shut him down after just one spring training appearance. The subsequent surgery wiped out his entire 2023 and 2024 seasons.
“If Andrew Painter had been pitching for us those two seasons before he hurt his arm, we might have won the World Series and won it more than once,” Middleton said. “Having Andrew Painter even coming out of the bullpen in ’23 or ’24 would have changed games, frankly.”
While it’s difficult to say how much impact a young pitcher could have had on an offense that repeatedly struggled in key moments, Middleton remains convinced that Painter’s presence would have been a game-changer.
The good news for Phillies fans? They won’t have to wait much longer to see if Middleton is right. Now 21 years old, Painter is expected to make his long-awaited MLB debut in July, with the team closely managing his workload to ensure he’s ready for a potential October run.
