Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter’s MRI reveals a UCL sprain. He will rest for four weeks, team says.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — An MRI on March 3 revealed that 19-year-old Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter has a right proximal ulnar collateral ligament sprain, according to the Phillies. Painter sought a second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who confirmed a UCL sprain. The pitcher will rest for four weeks from the injury — three weeks from Friday — and then begin a light tossing progression, according to the team.

The 19-year-old right-hander has not thrown since March 1 when he went two innings in his first Grapefruit League start against the Twins. He came into Phillies camp the next day reporting “tenderness” in his right elbow.

Painter was the leading candidate to win the Phillies’ fifth-starter job this spring, a spot president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said he’d reserve for a younger pitcher. Painter would have become the first 19-year-old to start for the Phillies since Mark Davis in 1980. Painter turns 20 on April 10.

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”I have extensive studies on young pitchers with extreme velocity at young ages,” said Scott Boras, Painter’s agent. “Andrew is aware and understands his development requires great attention and patience so his rare skill extends throughout a long MLB career.”

Painter said on Friday that no platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection was recommended by ElAttrache. The phenom said the sprain is “pretty mild” and he is “pretty confident” that he will not need surgery down the line.

“You look at Dr. ElAttrache, that guy is one of the best at what he does,” Painter said. “For him to come out and say, after getting a good look at it, just rest it — he’s dealt with stuff like this before. I don’t think he would recommend that if he wasn’t confident it was going to work.”

Despite the injury, Painter has been around the Phillies’ spring training complex in Clearwater. He has been in and out of the Phillies’ big league clubhouse every day, and often sits in the dugout during games. Last Tuesday morning, he was on Robin Roberts Field watching his former minor league teammates take batting practice.

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The Phillies are trying to play the long game with their 2021 first-round pick. They see no sense in rushing a pitcher who has a ceiling as high as Painter’s. He has dominated at every step of his development, from rookie league to double A. He had an ERA of 1.56 in 103⅔ innings across low A, high A and double A in 2022, with 155 strikeouts.

“You’re disappointed for the player, for sure,” manager Rob Thomson said of Painter’s diagnosis. “But at least it’s good news that there’s no surgery.”

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There are cautionary tales to point to — like Rick Porcello, Madison Bumgarner and Félix Hernández — who debuted at 19 or 20, pitched well up until their age 28 or 29 seasons, and then weren’t the same. The hope is that Painter will not just pitch beyond his age 28 or 29 season, but will dominate beyond then.

“Obviously I want to be healthy and stay on the mound,” Painter said, “But at the end of the day, it’s a long season and you want to be there at the end when it really matters.”

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