Phillies Worry Loss Of Wheeler Will Hurt Their Division Title Drive

Phillies ace Zack Wheeler is out indefinitely with a blood clot. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

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Philadelphia’s bid to defend its National League East title took a serious detour over the weekend.

That’s because workhorse starter Zack Wheeler was sidelined with a blood clot that could keep him out for the last six weeks of the season.

The clot is near the throwing shoulder of the 35-year-old right-hander.

Wheeler, in the first season of a three-year, $126 million extension, was one of the big reasons the Phillies were able to build and maintain a five-game lead over the second-place New York Mets.

Strikeout Leader

He leads the National League with 195 strikeouts, a 33.3 per cent strikeout percentage, and a 0.94 WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched). He is 10-5 with a 2.71 earned run average, one of the league’s best.

The 6-4, 195-pound right-hander has been one of the most durable pitchers in baseball, starting at least two-dozen times five years in a row. He’s gone 113-75 with a 3.28 earned run average over his 11-year career while averaging 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings and has finished with double digits in victories eight times.

The extent of his injury – and length of his absence – will be decided in mid-September. The Phillies have not made any announcement on the severity of his injury but losing him could knock the defending NL East champs out of the playoffs early.

Other pitchers, notably Scott Oberg of the Colorado Rockies, never recovered from similar ailments, while others needed up a year before they were able to return.

Strong Rotation

Starting pitching has been a strength for the Phils, whose rotation also includes Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, Jesus Luzardo, and Taijuan Walker, plus the recently-returned Aaron Nola. Sanchez, Suarez, and Luzardo throw left-handed, giving the team a luxury unmatched by most other contenders.

Wheeler, a two-time strikeout king who won 16 games last season, underwent clot-busting therapy Monday at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Thrombolysis, also known as thrombolytic therapy or fibrinolytic therapy, is a treatment that dissolves blood clots to restore normal blood flow – an approach routinely used in emergencies, such as heart attacks, strokes, and severe blood clots in the lungs or legs.

Thrombolytic drugs are administered through an intravenous line or directly into the blood clot via catheter. If successful, thrombolysis prevents damage to tissues and organs.

A three-time All-Star, Wheeler finished second in the 2024 voting for the National League’s Cy Young Award. He had been considered a pre-season favorite for the award in 2025.

Without Wheeler, the Phils will depend more heavily on Nola, who just returned from a sprained ankle and stress reaction in his rib cage. Once considered a co-ace with Wheeler, Nola had a rough start this year and a rough return, yielding six runs against the last-place Washington Nationals in a 53-pitch outing. He had not pitched in the majors since May.

Philadelphia entered play Monday with a 71-53 record, five games ahead of the Mets in the NL East.