The Philadelphia Phillies' season has come to an end, and the front office will be trying to figure out what the roster is going to look like for next season.
The Phillies did make the postseason for the fifth straight year and challenged the Atlanta Braves in the National League Wild Card Round. However, even though a lot of teams would be pleased with the season that they had, the Phillies certainly wanted more.
Now, as the team starts to prepare for ways to improve, how they attack this offseason will be interesting to see. Philadelphia will have a couple of needs in key areas, and unfortunately, they are areas that have plagued the team.
Adding some help for both the bullpen and the lineup will be the top needs. Philadelphia has tried to address both of these areas in recent years, but has seemingly always come up short.
Fortunately, while the team has some areas to address, they do have an excellent starting rotation to lean on. As they prepare for next season, they know that they have Zack Wheeler, Christopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola, and Andrew Painter set to be on the roster.
While it is a mostly veteran group, the Phillies did introduce their former top prospect Andrew Painter into the rotation at the start of the season. The results for the right-hander might have been mixed, but the future is bright.
Sep 30, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter (24) throws a pitch against the Atlanta Braves in the eighth inning during game two of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
One bright spot for the Phillies in the second half of the year was certainly the play of Painter. The young right-hander got off to pretty much as bad a start to his career as he could have, but he rallied back. Philadelphia elected to send him down for a bit of a reset, and when he came back, he was a different pitcher.
Due to his success after coming back, he was on the postseason roster and ended up getting the win for the Phillies in Game 2. For a rookie pitcher to be able to come in and pitch the way he did with the season on the line, Philadelphia should be really excited about his future.
As the team prepares for next season, Painter is going to be a big part of those plans. The young right-hander might not have started off his rookie campaign like he would have envisioned, but he finished strong and should be able to carry that into next season.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/phillies/onsi as Why Phillies' Andrew Painter is Poised For a Breakout Season in 2027 .
