Zack Wheeler Headed to Injured List With Blood Clot
The Philadelphia Phillies announced that right-hander Zack Wheeler will head to the injured list with a right upper extremity blood clot. Dave Dombrowski and head athletic trainer Paul Buchheit declined…
The Philadelphia Phillies announced that right-hander Zack Wheeler will head to the injured list with a right upper extremity blood clot.
Dave Dombrowski and head athletic trainer Paul Buchheit declined to comment on the specifics of the planned treatment and the timeline for his return to the Phillies. Doctors in Philadelphia will further evaluate Wheeler.
“There’s not a lot we can say on it at this time. I commend Paul (Buchheit) and the doctors here to find this because it could’ve been a much more trying situation than what it is.”
Wheeler threw a dominant complete game victory on July 6 against the Cincinnati Reds. He struck out 12 and solidified his status as a National League Cy Young candidate and one of the top starting pitchers in the majors.
He slipped after the dominant outing in his six most recent starts, however. The 35-year-old posted a 4.54 ERA in 33⅓ innings pitched. His velocity noticeably decreased, and he labored through five innings in his most recent outing on Friday against the Washington Nationals.
Although Wheeler spoke postgame about feeling improvement, he received the difficult news on Saturday.
Buchheit told the traveling Philadelphia media in Washington D.C.that the blood clot is likely independent of any shoulder soreness Zack Wheeler felt from pitching after his recent starts.
“We don’t know the timeline (for a return to the Phillies). I’m thinking a lot about Zack and his family."
-Rob Thomson
The staff ace had also experienced fatigue in the later months of the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The Phillies managed Wheeler's workload lightly to gear up for postseason runs, but the blood clot presents a different type of issue.
The Phillies will activate Aaron Nola to take Wheeler's place on the 40-man roster. Nola will start against the Nationals on Sunday in the finale of a four-game set in the nation's capital.
