The Philadelphia Phillies got some bad news about young right-hander Andrew Painter on Friday morning.
The top pitching prospect, who the Phillies were going to give a chance to claim a spot in the starting rotation, has a tear in his UCL.
Jeff Passan of ESPN announced the news on Twitter.
However, there appears to be a slight misconception among fans about Painter’s injury.
The right-hander will be shut down for four weeks and begin a light throwing program afterwards to see if he can pitch through the injury, which has been classified as a UCL sprain.
Passan clarified that UCL sprains are actually possible to pitch through.
For everyone’s reference, a little Medical Terminology 101:
Sprain = ligament tear
Strain = muscle or tendon tear
Rupture = complete tear
— Jeff.eth (@JeffPassan) March 10, 2023
As Passan notes, plenty of pitchers have been able to pitch through UCL sprains.
However, it is not easy.
Passan made another important note that often times, UCL sprains do result in a pitcher ultimately needing Tommy John surgery.
Still, partial tears can be managed.
Pass then clarified his comments further by posting a tweet featuring some medical terminology.
No elbow injury, especially one involving a UCL tear, is an easy one for a pitcher to bounce back from.
But ruptures are the only type of tear that cannot be managed.
Sprains and strains can be worked through, and it appears that the Phillies will be taking that approach with Painter, shutting him down for roughly a month and seeing if he’ll be able to fight through the injury.
Time will tell if this is something Painter can work through or not.
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Phillies Get Bad News On Andrew Painter
