Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler will miss the remainder of the season and is expected to be out for six to eight months after being diagnosed with venous thoracic outlet syndrome, the team announced Saturday.
The 35-year-old right-hander had surgery this week to remove a blood clot in his throwing shoulder. Venous thoracic outlet -- a rare subtype of the compression disorder that pinches a vein and causes blood clots to form -- is repaired through surgery, which has been recommended for Wheeler and could allow him to return by Opening Day 2026. The surgery typically entails the removal of a rib to help decompress the area.
"It's disappointing, but everybody knows it's out of our control," Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters Saturday. "We're happy he's going to be healthy, because it's a very serious thing that he went through."
The loss of Wheeler for the rest of 2025 is a significant blow to the Phillies' championship hopes. Since signing with the Phillies before the 2020 season, Wheeler has been the best pitcher in baseball, a workhorse whose low ERA and high strikeout totals are made by his pinpoint command and variety of high-octane stuff.
Wheeler had been a stalwart in the Phillies' rotation, making his full complement of starts in four of five seasons and regularly finishing near the top of Cy Young balloting. He was turning in a typically solid season, striking out a major-league-high 195 in 149â…” innings and allowing fewer than one baserunner an inning with a 2.71 ERA.
With left-handers Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez and Jesus Luzardo, plus right-handers Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker, the Phillies have ample starting depth to weather the loss. They also could eventually summon top pitching prospect Andrew Painter to bolster a pitching staff that has added closer Jhoan Duran and setup man David Robertson within the last month.
"It's never good to lose a Zack Wheeler, your No. 1 pitcher," Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. "I think we have starting pitching depth that's capable of pitching well for us. Again, you're never going to replace an individual like that. ... I've been in all different types of scenarios with pitchers being out. We have a good ballclub, and we'll be looking for other people to step up and pick up the slack for us."
At 74-54, Philadelphia holds a six-game lead in the National League East ahead of the New York Mets and would currently hold the No. 2 seed in the NL playoffs.