Last Friday morning, the Philadelphia Phillies announced that their No. 1 prospect, Andrew Painter, has endured a slight tear of his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The injury occurred during Painter’s Spring Training debut on March 1 against the Minnesota Twins. Following a second opinion from orthopedist Neal ElAttrache, the Phillies announced the injury concerting their top prospect. However, the UCL tear is very mild, and Painter is expected to pitch competitively for the Phillies during the upcoming 2023 season.
The news in this story relates to a special audience, being the fans of the Philadelphia Phillies organization. The newsmaker in this story is Andrew Painter, Phillies top prospect who was drafted in 2021. There are multiple publics that are concerned with this story, ranging from fans of the Phillies organization to all sports fans. The obvious main public that is concerned with this story would be Phillies fans. Painter has been a highly anticipated prospect since he was drafted in 2021, and his pitching potential is a potent threat to the MLB this year. This Phillies and their fans were undoubtedly excited for Painter’s 2023 regular season debut, however, that timeline may be pushed back potentially. The other publics concerned with this story would be all fans of the MLB, all other MLB teams, and sports fans in general. For sports fans in general, this story concerns them as a serious injury to Painter would now allow anyone to see his well-known talent this year. This is the same for all fans of baseball, however, many of these fans may be excited by this news. Painter poses a serious threat to many teams this year, as the Phillies were two games from securing another World Series title without Painter in the rotation. All MLB teams are also concerned about this article for the same reason; they most likely do not want to see Painter on the mound against their team this year.
As the PR person for Andrew Painter, I would concern myself with the Phillies fans audience as this story is negative and can impact our fanbase. The Philadelphia Phillies fans are not ready to lose their top prospect, especially considering how well the ballclub played last year. Painter will be adding a significant boost to the team, and the fans need to be reminded that his injury is very minor. The actions I would be concerned about are news outlets stretching this story, and making it seem that Painter is going to be injured for the year. The actions I would take would be to consistently remind fans that Painter is expected to start throwing again before April. I would also consistently provide the most recent updates on his status.
https://www.mlb.com/phillies/news/andrew-painter-has-ucl-sprain