It took more than a week, but the Phillies on Friday finally offered an update on Painter’s health.
A few thoughts:
• Perhaps there is a silver lining here. The Phillies planned to navigate the season with Painter in the rotation by carefully monitoring his workload. If he returns in midsummer or later, perhaps they can ease those limitations and turn him loose, more or less.
• The most bizarre comments on Twitter (I know, I know) are that Painter should have Tommy John surgery now … just to get it over with. What?
Multiple sources said early last week that they saw no indications that Painter needed surgery, which the team and renowned orthopedist Neal ElAttrache later confirmed.
Painter's injury might be more similar to Aaron Nola’s UCL injury in 2016 than to Seranthony Domínguez’s UCL injury in 2019.
Everybody then seemed to think Domínguez would need surgery eventually, and everybody then thought Nola only needed rest. Nola rested. He returned in 2017 and he has been one of the most durable pitchers in baseball since. He never had surgery. Thank goodness Nola never listened to the Twitter MDs.
• In the past, the Phillies typically announced a UCL injury as a generic UCL injury. For Painter, they specifically announced a sprained proximal UCL. Coincidence? Maybe not. There is a significant difference between a partial proximal UCL tear and a partial distal UCL tear.
In a 2017 Cleveland Clinic study, 17 of 19 professional pitchers (89.5 percent) with partial proximal tears returned to pitch without surgery. Only 4 of 13 pitchers (30.8 percent) with distal tears did. It explains the Phillies and Painter’s confidence that he can return this season and not risk further injury or surgery.