Andrew Painter (center) and Garrett Stubbs (right) spent the season together at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
MILWAUKEE — After three years of catching the likes of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Ranger Suárez with the Phillies, Garrett Stubbs has spent the entire season at Triple-A getting a glimpse of what the future of the team could look like.
Stubbs returned to the Phillies Monday as rosters expanded from 26 to 28, and after fielding some questions about his season and how excited he is to be back, the veteran catcher was asked about the season that No. 1 prospect Andrew Painter has had at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
While there's some disappointment among Phillies fans that Painter has yet to earn a promotion to the majors, Stubbs had a different perspective on the 22-year-old.
"Yeah, I mean, he's coming off of Tommy John," Stubbs said. "So for me, [there's] success in him having a full season and being able to get the innings in and post every single week. To me, that's a successful season.
"I know people wanted to see him up here probably months ago, he's been our No. 1 prospect for a long time," Stubbs added. "So people want to see him here. But for me, just him being healthy and getting to pitch every single week, is a success for him. So, it's been good to see him do that and progress throughout the season."
Garrett Stubbs on what he’s seen this year from Andrew Painter at Triple-A
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/n0tGlt09hF
From a statistical sense, it has been a disappointing year for Painter. He has a 5.36 ERA in 19 starts at Triple-A. However, it's not uncommon after Tommy John surgery for a pitcher to take some time to really get back to 100% again. For example, Zack Wheeler had Tommy John surgery in March of 2015, and really wasn't right again until the 2018 season. What Painter is going through isn't unprecedented.
Manager Rob Thomson has consistently talked about how the stuff is there for Painter, but after missing two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery, he's still working on getting his command back.
And Stubbs said both from a stuff and makeup perspective, he's come away impressed by Painter.
"He's got really good velo — throws the ball really hard," Stubbs said. "And I've seen him in previous Spring Trainings too. So him getting a feel for all of his pitches back will take some time coming off of Tommy John. Just getting to know him throughout the season as a person too and getting to see how mature he is and that he's ready for the big league level mentally ... the physical stuff will come in time as he progresses through his Tommy John basically rehab still.
"For me, him coming off of TJ, and still having pitched three or four months ... it's tough to come back from," Stubbs continued. "Anybody who has come off of it says it's a tough thing to to come back from. So it's good to see him post."
Q: Is there anything you gained this year at Triple-A that you think will make you a better player?
Garrett Stubbs:
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/1wa3527uCA
In hindsight, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski probably shouldn't have put the "July-ish" timeline on Painter's potential arrival back in Spring Training. It hardly seemed ambitious at the time, but Painter had never pitched at Triple-A and was coming back after missing a pair of seasons. There were too many variables, and now that Painter hasn't played a role for the Phillies this year, it feels like he's disappointed.
Sunday's signing of former All-Star Walker Buehler — who is expected to join the rotation on Sept. 12 — would seem to close the door on Painter coming up this season. However, Thomson wasn't willing to commit to that Monday afternoon.
"Yeah, we'll just see how it goes," Thomson said. "I mean, there's always an injury factor that's in the back of my mind. It's always there. So to say that he's not going to pitch here this year, not gonna say that."
Ultimately, it's encouraging that Painter was able to stay healthy throughout the 2025 season, as Stubbs noted. But based on preseason expectations, for Stubbs to not be rejoining Painter on the Phillies is disappointing.
