Andrew Painter is the No. 1 prospect in the Phillies' organization. (Cheryl Pursell)
The Phillies desperately need a high-leverage relief pitcher, and they know it.
Unfortunately, every other team in baseball also knows it.
With the trade deadline looming, Dave Dombrowski is putting in his due diligence and asking about prominent relievers around the league. However, since other teams are well aware of how badly the Phillies need a reliable late-inning pitcher, their asking price is extremely high.
That asking price is the No. 8 prospect in all of baseball: right-handed pitcher Andrew Painter.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported today that the Phillies asked about Athletics star closer Mason Miller. However, the A's wanted Painter in return.
This isn't the first time a team has identified Painter as its desired return; it isn't even the first time today. The Athletic's Jayson Stark reported that the Minnesota Twins asked for Painter in a potential trade that would send closer Jhoan Durán to Philadelphia, but the Phillies are completely unwilling to include Painter in any trade package, no matter the return.
#Twins RP Griffin Jax has become the top target for the #Phillies, per Jayson Stark.
Stark also noted that SP Andrew Painter is the dealbreaker in negotiations with the #Twins for Jhoan Duran.#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/JvmTOgdnR8
Matt Gelb of The Athletic confirmed that report today, citing the team's refusal to trade Painter as a roadblock preventing a trade for either Miller or Durán:
"They refuse to even entertain the thought of moving Painter, just as they were in previous talks for top lefty starter Garrett Crochet.
"The Phillies view Painter as perhaps their best pitching prospect since Cole Hamels - yes, perhaps even better than Aaron Nola. And at some point after the deadline, they likely will deploy him as a weapon for their major-league club."
That is quite high praise for the 22-year-old. Indeed, the Phillies have never wanted to trade Painter, and they haven't been quiet about that, but the organizational faith in Painter also puts the Phillies in an awkward position.
The bullpen needs reinforcements. That is a fact. Suspended reliever José Alvarado is eligible to return to the club on Aug. 18, but he is still ineligible to pitch in the playoffs. Dombrowski is – or he should be – looking toward October, so Alvarado is effectively a non-factor.
However, since the Phillies' thin bullpen is a weakness evident to the rest of the league, teams' asking prices will naturally be higher. They will lean into the Phillies' desperation. They will ask for Painter.
The Phillies will not trade Painter, so they will need to convince teams to take packages involving multiple other prospects for a star reliever instead — at least if they want to get a controllable one.
Could all of this have been avoided by re-signing one or both of Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez last offseason? Possibly. It certainly seems like Dombrowski has backed himself into a corner in that regard, especially since the Jordan Romano signing hasn't panned out.
But the past is in the past, and until Thursday, July 31 at 6 p.m. ET, all eyes across the league are on the future. Dombrowski and the Phillies have just over 24 hours to find a workaround.
