Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler will have his next start delayed after experiencing right shoulder soreness following his outing against the Tigers. Instead of starting Friday’s series opener against the Rangers, Wheeler is now expected to pitch in Sunday’s series finale in Arlington.
“Wheeler came out of his last start a little sore — more sore than he normally is,” manager Rob Thomson said before Wednesday’s 5-1 loss to the Orioles at Citizens Bank Park. “We got an image done. It’s clean. We’re just going to give him an extra couple days.”
Thomson stated there was no concern about Wheeler’s condition: “No,” Thomson said. “The image was clean.”
Wheeler participated in his usual pre-start throwing routine on Wednesday, and the Phillies opted not to skip his turn entirely, taking advantage of Thursday’s off-day by simply pushing him back a few days.
When asked if they considered skipping Wheeler as a precaution, Thomson replied, “No,” adding, “Because he’s fine.”
The team plans to monitor Wheeler closely over the coming days and could adjust their rotation if needed. If necessary, Wheeler could be pushed back further with Taijuan Walker and Ranger Suárez available for normal rest starts.
“He’s fine, so if he’s ready to go Sunday … ,” Thomson said of Wheeler. “Obviously, we can back him up even more if we need to, because we have the off-day [on Thursday].”
Thomson emphasized that the Phillies are being cautious but not alarmed regarding their ace pitcher’s health: “We’re just going to give him an extra couple days.” He also noted there are currently no plans to change how Wheeler is used for the remainder of the season: “We’ll see,” Thomson said. “I’m not planning on it.”
Wheeler has been central to Philadelphia’s success this season and was seen as a frontrunner for the NL Cy Young Award after a dominant July performance. However, over his past four starts he has posted an 0-2 record with a 4.94 ERA, raising concerns as his fastball velocity has slightly dipped compared to earlier in the year.
Despite these recent struggles and velocity fluctuations—where only about 12% of his four-seam fastballs exceeded 97 mph over three starts compared with more than half previously—Wheeler expressed confidence in how he felt physically during games.
“Whatever comes out, comes out,” Wheeler said when asked about his velocity after his last start.
He also took responsibility for returning for the seventh inning in Saturday’s game: “That was on me going back out there for the seventh,” Wheeler said following Saturday’s game. “I kind of told him that I really wanted to, and we just have that respect for each other, so he let me. At the end of the day, maybe I shouldn’t have, but I really did feel good being able to go back out there.”
Since joining Philadelphia before 2020, Wheeler has remained mostly healthy except for brief absences due to forearm tendinitis and previous shoulder fatigue while with another team. He leads all pitchers in innings thrown since 2020 and ranks second in total pitches delivered during that period.
The Phillies remain committed to keeping their pitching staff healthy as they aim for postseason success this year.
