Phillies 2026 News and Discussion

[andyb]

Yes, we optioned Johnson at the beginning of the year and then twice more in April. So only 2 more chances to send him down I believe. He has been really good the last month. I think they might want him to have sustained success and maybe call him up for good around the All Star break if there is a roster spot available then and he continues to pitch well.

[zambonir]

Oh wow, yeah, three options. Didn't realize he'd already had two in-season. Does the spring training one count?

Like Rule 5 it seems like this is another thing that is meant to give players more opportunities but can have the opposite effect. You either get buried in AAA longer as in this apparent situation, or you end up being fungible enough as a see-saw guy to trigger DFA.

Leaving him down there probably preserves his trade value too.

[andyb]

The rule is you can send someone down 5 times on the option so the Spring one does count. We can recall him two more times and send him down. If we recalled him a 3rd time and sent him down he would have to pass through waivers. Of course he'll be out of options next year so if we have not determined by August or September that we might want him on next year's team it does not really matter.

I don't think this is that important. Just delaying any recall a few weeks. He has just been our best reliever down there by far. Lazar is fine, but has a more limited ceiling. His advantage I guess is the ability to go 2 innings which may be more important with Nola and Painter struggling.

[Callison]

Surprised me to see Lazar. Last time was not ready by a lot. Looked like a different player yesterday, looked confident and pitched that way, hitting the high and away corner. Got a comfy lead behind him for his first time back but he showed the decision to choose him was the right one. Looks ready.

[Patchmk88]

I wonder what we do with Painter. He still has arm talent, but not the same as pre surgery and his command has just gone out the door. I don’t know if you can keep trotting him out there every 5th day.

[phillychuck]

I’d move Painter to the bullpen or to a tandem role for a while...gotta have a second decent pitcher to pair him with, though. Or to replace him in he rotation. We have great pitching, but little depth. Bad job signing AAAA pitchers this offseason. Rangel might be the only real option. It’s pretty scary looking at the pitching prospects in AA and AAA right now--they look like one-season wonders, mostly, or career minor leaguers.

[andyb]

I don't see how the bullpen would help much. He just needs a run at AAA to work on command and pitch shape and hopefully confidence.

Go with Rangel for a few turns and promote Braydon Tucker to AAA to see if his mediocre stuff but superior command continues to have success.

[David_Criss]

Call up Rangel. He won't do any worse and I want Painter preserved before his confidence is completely destroyed. He is showing over and over and over he is not ready for MLB. That isn't an insult, but a reality. He could have a great future.

[zambonir]

Meanwhile, Banks still has options once Backhus is ready.

[andyb]

Meanwhile, Banks still has options once Backhus is ready.

That does seem logical though does not help with the 2-inning reliever issue.

Getting 6 out of Nola is going to be important. At the very least they need to split him and Painter in the rotation so they are not back to back.

Looking at the schedule we have the strange World Cup day off Friday. Rangel is supposed to pitch today but I would have him in Philly tomorrow to back up Nola. Then the off day would let them skip Painter next time through if they wanted to slot Rangel in at that point.

[Philsmania]

Painter at this point is simply painful to watch. Maybe he still is the bright prospect we thought he was but he needs to work on his command and confidence. This is two straight seasons of subpar performance from him. Maybe even like the Jays did with Halladay in 2001, send him all the way down to A to work on things and just get some confidence again.

[zambonir]

Phillies optioned Andrew Painter after the game. They’ll bring an extra reliever for Thursday, then try something different next week with No. 5 spot in rotation.

— Matt Gelb ( @mattgelb.bsky.social ) June 17, 2026 at 6:16 PM

[zambonir]

At this point the question might be can Painter work his way back into the rotation by the trade deadline or will they have to get someone. If Nola was better would be easier to navigate a patchwork #5, just like most years.

[andyb]

I guess that means they will let Rangel start in AAA tonight and if he does well he'll take Painter's next turn.

And an extra reliever for tomorrow that might get sent back down for Rangel later. Day off Friday means they probably only need the reliever for tomorrow to get to Saturday.

They had to option Painter. Probably should have done in 2-3 starts ago. Lack of alternatives is a reason I assume, but they definitely delayed a bit too long.

[phillychuck]

Why do I have the feeling they handled this very poorly and have endangered their #1 prospect asset? That’s bad evaluation during spring by whoever thought he was ready. I predict AAA hitters are going to bomb him as well.

[fish]

Why do I have the feeling they handled this very poorly and have endangered their #1 prospect asset?

I don’t think they mishandled him. At the end of the day he needs to adjust his delivery to change his fastball traits, and it’s not like the org to try to do those things in season big leagues or minors. Best thing for him would be to send him to the complex for 6 weeks to start working that out otherwise there is no reason to think doing the same thing is going to change the results.

[julio]

So...Perhaps the next step will be to move Painter to the development list (which you can do in the minors), and then take him to Florida and work on his mechanics.

[BaseballCat]

I prefer the development list approach with a deep dive into his pitch mechanics- what is working and what is not. I am sure they have done most of this, but now with less stress. Is he tipping pitches? Should he focus on commanding fewer pitches and us the off season to add another? There is too much raw talent here even after TJ surgery.

[fish]

The ball is very visable out of his hand, he doesn’t get as much extension as he should for his size, and except for the period of time he was throwing 99, it’s pretty flat- pretty similar concerns about his projectability when he was drafted. There was always going to be a day he’d need to learn how to survive when he couldn’t throw that way (99) anymore, it just came sooner than expected. In that regard, a Halliday-like rework seems to be in order. All the talent is there to do it. A little flatter approach and a little more extension could be all he needs- but easier said than done if you’ve thrown the same way all your life.

[Austinfan]

He has quality secondary stuff, just needs to be more consistent.
They're talking about maybe more of a cut fastball, and a better 2 seamer would help.
Once you get 95+, command and movement far more important than 1-2 MPH.
Wheeler throws 95-96 but his four seamer a lot harder to hit.