The Philadelphia Phillies could potentially make an intriguing pitching change this week.
The Philadelphia Phillies will almost surely be going to the playoffs, so it's time they started to prepare.
That means getting their pitching staff in order.
More specifically, the Phillies' bullpen has been a disaster in recent weeks, and Philadelphia just demoted Orion Kerkerking after consecutive horrendous outings.
Outside of Jhoan Duran and perhaps Alex McFarlane, the Phillies don't truly have any trustworthy arms in their pen right now. That's a problem.
But the good news is that Philadelphia's bullpen will feature some new additions for the postseason, and among them will be Andrew Painter.
In fact, Matt Gelb of The Athletic has reported that the Phillies could potentially skip Painter's start this Thursday in order to give him a "trial run" as a reliever, in which case Philadelphia may roll with Nestor Cortes as its starter.
The Phillies signed Cortes last month, and while he was immediately placed on the injured list (not a great sign considering he missed most of last year), he has since returned and pitched three games out of the bullpen for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
So is it possible that Cortes himself could ultimately serve as a weapon in the later innings for Philadelphia this October?
Cortes is a former All-Star from his New York Yankees days, and while his arm surely isn't the same anymore from all of the injuries he's had over the years, there is a chance the veteran could be of some help.
Cortes is a left-hander, which could result in him being used in certain matchups, and it's not like the Phillies' bullpen is so crowded with reliable arms.
Is it necessarily advisable to throw someone who hasn't pitched in a big-league game since 2025 into immediate playoff action? Not normally, but Philadelphia is in dire straits.
So let's say Cortes gets a start on Thursday and looks good. Do the Phillies ultimately consider him for their postseason roster, especially with Kerkering now done for the year?
It's certainly something to monitor, and it will also be interesting to see how Painter handles a relief role, as well.
There is still a lot that Don Mattingly needs to figure out before the playoffs, and the bullpen is the most important task of all.
