Phillies’ Andrew Painter sprained his UCL right elbow

Spring training is barely two weeks old, but the injury bug has just surfaced.

There has been some delay and mystery surrounding the elbow injury of Phillies top prospect Andrew Painter.

Painter had some elbow tightness on March 3, but no follow-up had been given on the extent of the injury. Well, today we finally got the update.

Painter was diagnosed with a right proximal ulnar collateral ligament sprain.

The team hopes he won’t need the dreaded Tommy John surgery, which would end his season.

The 19-year-old made his Grapefruit League debut on March 1 but reported tenderness in his right elbow after the start against the Orioles and got further evaluation.

Paitner was expected to compete for the No. 5 spot in the Phillies’ starting rotation, but will be shut down for at least the next four weeks before beginning a slight pitching progression.

Bailey Falter and Michael Plassmeyer are now likely candidates to capture the No. 5 spot in the Phillies’ rotation.

Another Phillies pitcher who has always felt some forearm strain is Ranger Suarez, who pitches for Venezuela at the World Baseball Classic and faced the Astros on Wednesday.

He told Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquire that he wasn’t worried and hoped to be ready for the season.

“I think so,” Suarez told the reporter. “At least that’s what I hope. I know it’s a very long season, so I don’t want to miss a lot of it.

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