A year ago, almost to the day, the Phillies’ highest-ranking baseball executive sat in the dugout before a game and touted Andrew Painter — 19 at the time — as both untouchable in trade talks and a possible major-league starting pitcher in 2023.
In discussing Painter on Wednesday, Dave Dombrowski took on a decidedly more ominous tone.
“It appears,” he said, “he’s going to need Tommy John surgery.”
