The Philadelphia Phillies are probably in no danger of missing out on their fourth consecutive postseason bid, leading the National League East by five games over the struggling New York Mets following Sunday’s games. But anything beyond merely qualifying for the playoffs was thrown into serious doubt after Sunday’s stunning news about the Phillies‘ ace pitcher.
At the age of 35, in his 11th big league season, right-hander Zack Wheeler is in the midst of one his best years. Wheeler leads the major in strikeouts with 195. He ranks eighth in MLB in ERA at 2.71, fourth in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) for pitchers (5.3), and fourth in walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) with 0.935. His 149 2/3 innings are sixth-most of any MLB hurler.
Wheeler’s Season Likely Cut Short
But sadly, those numbers are likely to be Wheeler’s final season stats. The 2009 No. 6 overall draft pick was placed on the 15-day injured list Sunday, diagnosed with a blood clot “near his right shoulder,” according to a report by ESPN baseball insider Jeff Passan.
“The timetable for his return is unclear,” Passan reported. According to the National Blood Clot Alliance, a typical recovery time is around three months — which would effectively erase the remainder of Wheeler’s season and postseason.
Immediate Health Concerns For Wheeler
More important than the Phillies’ postseason prospects, and the likelihood that they — despite going “all-in” this year with the fourth-highest payroll in baseball at $288.7 million — will likely go another year without an appearance in the World Series, is the the future of Wheeler and his health.
Blood clots are not necessarily life-threatening but they can be, according to The Cleveland Clinic.
“If not treated, a clot can break free and cause a pulmonary embolism — where the clot gets stuck in a blood vessel in the lung, causing severe shortness of breath and even sudden death,” according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Medication is Most Common Treatment for Clots
Treatment generally involves a course of blood-thinning medication but could possibly involve surgical removal of the clot, according to Johns Hopkins.
While blood thinning medication is not banned for active players by MLB, taking the medicine carries an increased risk of bleeding, meaning that continuing to play while on the medicine could be extremely dangerous.
Wheeler hadn’t looked like himself since throwing a complete game masterpiece against the Cincinnati Reds on July 6,” wrote Fansided Phillies correspondent Michael Fisher. “Since then, the 35-year-old has a 4.54 ERA in six starts and has experienced issues with both command and a drop in velocity. He reported feeling shoulder soreness last week and had his start against the Texas Rangers pushed back a couple of days.
The Phillies chief trainer, Paul Buchheit, told The Associated Press that he did not believe the blood clot was related to the stiffness Wheeler had earlier reported feeling in his shoulder, and that Wheeler had actually been on the mend.
Blood Clot Not Related to Earlier Stiffness, Trainer Says
But on Friday, he reported new discomfort in his shoulder area.
“He felt a little heaviness,” Buchheit told the AP. “So, the doctors here were great in helping to diagnose and expedite that diagnosis this morning.”
The Phillies are playing in Washington against the Nationals for a three-game weekend series. Philadelphia president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said that Wheeler would be evaluated further upon his return to Philadelphia.
Wheeler’s 541 2/3 innings pitched since the start of 2023 are behind only San Francisco’s Logan Webb (574 1/3) as the most in baseball over that time period, according to an MLB.com report.
Phillies Stunning Bad News Probably Means No World Series For Another Year