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The Philadelphia Phillies now have an Andrew Painter problem, and they seemingly have had one over the past few months.
It's unfortunate that Painter isn't throwing the baseball at the level that anybody was hoping for him to, but this is the reality of what Painter has done over the past year or so, even if we go back to some of his outings in Triple-A last year, as he wasn't great then, either.
With the Phillies playing the type of baseball they have throughout the season, there's absolutely no debate that they have to be buyers at the deadline.
There have been points when the Phillies have been very bad, and others when they've been very good. At this point, barring something drastic happening over the next month and a half before the August trade deadline, the Phillies are going to add, and replacing Painter seems to be a priority.
One name to watch out for could be a short-term solution, and with the hope that Painter eventually figures things out, that's probably the better way to go in Philadelphia. One writer named the Boston Red Sox veteran, Sonny Gray, as a potential option.
“The 36-year-old does not make the Phillies any younger, but if the front office believes its clearest path to a championship is shutting teams down, this is the kind of move it could consider. Gray has been sharp in his first year in Boston after being traded there from St. Louis in the offseason. He has a 3.03 ERA in 12 starts. He is a different pitcher than the three-time All-Star most are used to seeing. He long leaned on his four-seam fastball, but this year, he has used his cutter about the same amount, even a little more…
“Boston has been a paltry 28-39 club and had to send out three prospects in the winter to acquire Gray, so he would still cost a fair amount. The longtime hurler also has a mutual option for next season at $30 million, which essentially makes him a rental. It would be hard to picture any suitor being satisfied with a 37-year-old making that kind of money, but teams would be happy if Gray became the missing piece in their rotation,” Cole Weintraub wrote.
Gray is what he is at this point in his career, as he's probably not going to wow anybody with his stuff, but he's going to get outs at a rather high level, and he can make a major impact on a postseason team.
Not only can he take some pressure off the rest of the Phillies' rotation and bullpen, but he could also be a nice No. 3 or No. 4 starter in this rotation come October.
Continue reading...
It's unfortunate that Painter isn't throwing the baseball at the level that anybody was hoping for him to, but this is the reality of what Painter has done over the past year or so, even if we go back to some of his outings in Triple-A last year, as he wasn't great then, either.
With the Phillies playing the type of baseball they have throughout the season, there's absolutely no debate that they have to be buyers at the deadline.
There have been points when the Phillies have been very bad, and others when they've been very good. At this point, barring something drastic happening over the next month and a half before the August trade deadline, the Phillies are going to add, and replacing Painter seems to be a priority.
One name to watch out for could be a short-term solution, and with the hope that Painter eventually figures things out, that's probably the better way to go in Philadelphia. One writer named the Boston Red Sox veteran, Sonny Gray, as a potential option.
“The 36-year-old does not make the Phillies any younger, but if the front office believes its clearest path to a championship is shutting teams down, this is the kind of move it could consider. Gray has been sharp in his first year in Boston after being traded there from St. Louis in the offseason. He has a 3.03 ERA in 12 starts. He is a different pitcher than the three-time All-Star most are used to seeing. He long leaned on his four-seam fastball, but this year, he has used his cutter about the same amount, even a little more…
“Boston has been a paltry 28-39 club and had to send out three prospects in the winter to acquire Gray, so he would still cost a fair amount. The longtime hurler also has a mutual option for next season at $30 million, which essentially makes him a rental. It would be hard to picture any suitor being satisfied with a 37-year-old making that kind of money, but teams would be happy if Gray became the missing piece in their rotation,” Cole Weintraub wrote.
Gray is what he is at this point in his career, as he's probably not going to wow anybody with his stuff, but he's going to get outs at a rather high level, and he can make a major impact on a postseason team.
Not only can he take some pressure off the rest of the Phillies' rotation and bullpen, but he could also be a nice No. 3 or No. 4 starter in this rotation come October.
Continue reading...
