Andrew Painter's long-awaited return to the mound is just five days away.
The Phillies' top prospect will begin a rehab assignment on Friday with Single A Clearwater, manager Rob Thomson said before Sunday's series finale against the Dodgers.
Painter will only throw a couple of innings in his first minor-league start. He will pitch once a week for the next few months and the Phillies hope to have him in the majors by June, July or August.
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"We're gonna be conservative and make sure we take care of him," Thomson repeated Sunday morning.
"The biggest thing is he gets through it, throws strikes and the stuff is there. That's what I'm looking for."
Painter has been brought back slowly since undergoing Tommy John surgery in July 2023. The Phillies know better than to rush a pitcher who is so crucial to not just 2025 and 2026 but their next decade.
Painter did not pitch at all in the minors last season, but he did feel healthy enough to participate in the Arizona Fall League and won the AFL's Pitcher of the Year award.
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"I wanted to go out there. I thought it would be some peace of mind seeing hitters in a game atmosphere, getting under the lights, real umpire back there, not just lobs on the backfield," he said in spring training. "That makes me more confident rolling into this year."
Already capable of reaching triple-digits with his fastball, Painter added muscle and a new, harder slider during what he described as a "two-year offseason." There is a wide range of outcomes for him this season. He could be a key second-half addition who replaces an injured starter. He could allow the Phillies to temporarily use a six-man rotation to keep their guys fresh late in the year. Maybe he serves as an opener here or there.
"Hopefully we have five really good starting pitchers at that point that make it difficult for him to break into (the rotation)," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in February. "So you wait to see what happens. But (July) is when I think we'll turn him loose more because if you look at the innings limitation, we want to build him up and not burn him too early in the year.
"I'm very excited. I think he's one of the best young pitchers in baseball. I think he's going to be a tremendous major-league pitcher. When I say that, I don't worry about him hearing that and not working hard. He works extremely hard. We just have to be careful with him this year.
"He has the potential to be a number one, top-of-the-rotation type of starter. Maybe he wouldn't be ours right off the bat — we've got some pretty good ones - but he has that type of potential for the long-term."
Other health updates
Ranger Suarez (back) threw a bullpen session on Saturday. If he continues to feel OK, the next step would be a simulated game Thursday in Clearwater.
Suarez will almost certainly need three or four rehab starts to build up stamina. He pitched only five innings in Grapefruit League games.
Weston Wilson (oblique) is six weeks removed from a Grade 2 oblique strain. He'll start a rehab assignment in Clearwater on Tuesday.