Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Phillies Trade Idea Moves Andrew Painter for Alec Bohm Replacement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jon Conahan | Last updated May 9, 2025 3:30 PM ET

The Philadelphia Phillies have one of the best rotations in Major League Baseball.

The expectation is that it’ll only improve over the next few months whenever Andrew Painter joins the rotation. Some have suggested that Painter could work out of the bullpen, but that isn't expected to be the case when the time comes.

For Painter, who made another start on Thursday night, it's only a matter of when for his big league debut.

The Phillies understand that he's one of the top prospects in Major League Baseball, and he's finally healthy. With him throwing a 100-plus mile per hour fastball, that's expected to play at the highest level.

However, despite all of the good he's shown throughout his young career, outside of the injuries, Jim Riley of Ball Cap Sports suggested a trade involving the youngster.

His trade would see the Phillies swap Painter with infielder Coby Mayo of the Baltimore Orioles.

"We basically exchanged top prospects," Riley said. "Going to Philadelphia would be Coby Mayo and headed to the Baltimore Orioles would be Andrew Painter."

His idea would be to help the Phillies replace Alec Bohm.

While moving on from Painter would only make sense if the Phillies were to get a superstar-level player in return, trading him for a 23-year-old who hasn't shown the ability to be anything at the big league level wouldn't make much sense.

Bohm hasn't been great to start the year, but if the Phillies are looking to replace him, they need to do so in a cheaper way. They also need to replace him with somebody better than Mayo, as Bohm has proven to be a better player throughout their careers, despite Mayo only having 21 games' worth of a sample size in Major League Baseball.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: