5:55pm: The surgery has now taken place, with the Phillies releasing a statement that says Painter “underwent successful right elbow ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction with ulnar nerve transposition surgery with Dr. Neil ElAttrache today in Los Angeles.” They list the typical timeline as 15 to 18 months.
3:25pm: The Phillies announced to reporters that pitching prospect Andrew Painter will undergo Tommy John surgery today in Los Angeles, performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, with Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer among those to relay the news.
The news isn’t a shock, as it was reported last week that the surgery was recommended to the youngster. It was relayed at that time that he would seek a second opinion from ElAttrache before going under the knife. It seems that the doctor seconded the recommendation of the team and Painter will indeed proceed with the surgery.
Both Painter and the Phils tried their best to avoid this fate, as the righty was diagnosed with a sprain of his right ulnar collateral ligament during Spring Training. Teams generally only pursue surgery as a last resort and he was initially recommended for a non-surgical path forward, which included a four-week shutdown period. But his later attempts to ramp-up came with renewed discomfort and he could no longer avoid the worst-case scenario.
Painter came into the season considered one of the top pitching prospects in the sport and seemed to have a chance to crack the Opening Day rotation in Philadelphia, despite the fact that he wasn’t going to turn 20 until the early parts of the season. But now he’ll miss all of 2023 and possibly all of 2024 as well, likely pushing his debut until 2025, his age-22 season.
Phinally…now the Painter focus shifts to spring training of ’25.
Next let’s focus on McGarry and Song…..Abel next man up….
Sure but none of those 3 will have an impact that Painter could have had. Losing a top pitching prospect who throws 99 isn’t easily replaced
Even as a braves fan I’m a little disappointed in the news. I’ve been watching him since the draft and I honestly believe he could be the next great ace of the Phills. It’s a shame seeing someone that talented and with so much potential facing a roadblock like this. At least most of the time TJS is just a minor setback these days, we’ll see the kid spring 25! My best wishes for a smooth recovery!
No sir 13/13 it is not….But what can be done…?
At least this current Phillies minor leagues is a bit better than the past, no?
Not all minor league systems are the Braves…Try and stay positive lil one…
Phinally….Now we can shift our Painter focus to ST of ’25.
Next men up; McGarry, Song and Abel…..
Were they just as sloshed as Schlegel?
Now I’ll never get that song out of my head.
The Philosopher Song..Outstanding
Socrates himself was permanently pissed.
I just hate what seems to be the inevitable for every young pitcher.
I thought this was decided at the start of the year. I don’t see why they waited this long.
Wow, such shocking news.
Glad they wasted the last 5 months waiting for it to magically fix itself, though.
Yeah, it’s not like there’s ever been a player who’s managed this injury with rehab instead of surgery. Oh, wait, there’s a whole list of them.
name them
Um, Aaron Nola.
Same sprain, same part of the UCL. Nonsurgical. I know you are Phils fan – so this is just the easiest example.
Aaron Nola for one.
Masahiro Tanaka is another one right off the top of my head. I’d look and find more examples, but I already know it’s true. If you need more proof, feel free to do the research yourself.
Gotta love the key board warriors wondering why players want to avoid a major surgery with no guarantee of success added to the fact the surgery is only good for a limited time.
If you’ve ever had any kind of surgery the rehab absolutely sucks. The dark side of the sport that’s rarely talked about and fans just say get the surgery. SMH
This wasn’t exactly the team’s call anyway – the team doctors recommended rehab after consulting with Dr. Neil ElAttrache (the doctor who ended up performing the surgery yesterday). It’s not like John Middleton and Dave Dombrowski are sitting in some smoky back office making up medical plans for their prospects.
The hyperbole is strong with this one.
That is correct, I do not believe that little league coaches should be put in prison for allowing kids to throw too many curve balls.
You sound like a guy who would support re-education camps for those that disagree with you. Your point is just a little bit over the top in my estimation.
Those terms of service sure get violated a lot then on here don’t they? Go run off to mama now. Your dino nuggets just came out of the oven. Better eat them before they get cold.
Well, he should have taken 2 Aleve or Advil as prescribed.
How do I treat Painter’s Elbow?
Lifestyle and home remedies
Your doctor may recommend the following self-care measures:
Rest. Avoid activities that aggravate your elbow pain.
Pain relievers. Try over-the-counter pain relievers, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB) or naproxen (Aleve).
Ice. Apply ice or a cold pack for 15 minutes three to four times a day.
Technique. Make sure that you are using proper technique for your activities and avoiding repetitive wrist motions.
I don’t think it’s the amount of pitches a pitcher throws—MLB pitchers throw the fewest pitches they have in history, and the cases of UCL damage is the greatest in history. I think it has more to do with the WAY pitchers are taught to throw today—as hard as you can, max effort, every single pitch.
It’s the obsession with the radar gun that’s the culprit, not the amount of pitches.
Lol stop trying to jail people for this, its absurd….also, what if the kid likes to throw pitches at home to dad as extra practice…you wanting to lock up fathers too or is it just limited to the highly trained individuals like little league coaches?? How far does your ridiculousness go?? And no, there will not be lawsuits, there will be no way to place liability on a little league coach as there is no way to say that 20 year old Andrew Painter is having surgery because when he was 11 he threw too many pitches.
Maybe the human elbow just wasn’t meant to throw a baseball 100 mph over and over, year after year.
I don’t think anyone should be jailed for this…that’s just stupid.
My argument about “pitch count” verse pitch intensity still stands. Kids have been throwing baseballs for decades, and throughout much of that there hasn’t been much thought to how many they were throwing, and the levels of TJ surgeries weren’t as high. Once baseball became obsessed with the radar gun, the TJ surgeries started piling up. Do you really think that pitchers in the ’90s & earlier were throwing fewer pitches in little league (or in their backyards) than pitchers today were. But countless pitchers have pitched in the major leagues for 15+ years without tearing the UCL (some exceptions). To me, it’s all about pitch intensity…the “Max Effort Guy”.
But who knows? Teams don’t care, and it’s actually cheaper for them in the long-term to have pitchers who destroy their elbows. It provides the realistic rationale to avoid investing long-term dollars in pitchers, and instead incentivizes short-term peaks.
“Thrown in jail”…You’ve obviously done years of studies on the causation of injury in young pitchers, right?….Oh, you haven’t actually done any studies and are just flapping your gums on the internet. That being said, training experts should work and train with youth coaches, teaching them the latest training and recovery techniques, not “throwing them all in jail”. My father was a Little League baseball coach and he never deserved to be “thrown in jail”.
Mr Smith, you’re under arrest for your part in the ruination of untold arms from little league right up to generations of MLB pitchers. You’ll get no trial. You’ll be held in the nearest jail indefinitely, and no attorney can help you. You’ve been found guilty of this crime by a poster on MLBTR, so any appeal will have to be made directly to him, but his mind is made up, so you’re wasting your time doing so.
hey now, dont forget that the poster said that you can serve your prison sentence as “prison from home”
Yeah, but what a spectacular story it would be across every media outlet the day law enforcement makes mass arrests on nearly every baseball diamond across the US. Coaches and managers being dragged off in handcuffs to jail for conspiracy to ruin every pitching arm in America.
Too bad , you can brush him aside for a while
Wasted 2023 and 2024. Phillies late to the party again should’ve traded Rhys when they had the chance too
Right? Why the defending NL champs refused to trade their starting 1B prior to the season with no viable replacement is beyond me. /s