Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler has been placed on the injured list due to a blood clot near his right shoulder, according to Phillies president of baseball operations David Dombrowski. The announcement came after the team’s 2-0 loss to the Washington Nationals on Saturday.
Wheeler pitched five innings against Washington on Friday, throwing 97 pitches, with 62 going for strikes. Head athletic trainer Paul Buchheit explained that Wheeler reported feeling “a little heaviness” in his right shoulder after the game.
“Zack had been feeling better after his right shoulder soreness,” Buchheit said. “But yesterday, some symptoms had changed. Doctors were great in helping to diagnose and expedite that diagnosis this morning.”
Dombrowski noted that Wheeler will be evaluated by doctors in Philadelphia early next week. “I commend Paul and the doctors here to find this because it could have been a much more trying situation than what it is,” he said.
With Wheeler moving to the injured list, right-hander Aaron Nola will be activated to start Sunday’s game. The team also plans a corresponding roster move before Sunday’s game but has not announced details yet.
Manager Rob Thomson addressed how the team would handle Wheeler’s absence: “We don’t know the timeline,” Thomson said. “I’m thinking a lot about Zack and his family because this is not a hamstring injury or something like that.”
Taijuan Walker, who started Saturday’s game and allowed two runs over nearly seven innings, emphasized concern for Wheeler rather than Saturday’s loss.
“I texted him a little bit this morning,” Walker said. “Obviously scary. [This loss today] doesn’t mean anything. Obviously, we are praying for him. Trying to keep in contact with him. I know he knows we are all here for him, we love him.”
Wheeler has made 24 starts this season with a record of 10-5 and an ERA of 2.71 over almost 150 innings pitched and 195 strikeouts. He had previously missed time when his last start was delayed due to shoulder soreness.
Teammate Kyle Schwarber noticed something was amiss when Wheeler was absent from the clubhouse ahead of Saturday’s game.
“We heard some rumblings,” Schwarber said. “When we got to the field, he wasn’t here. I made sure [to shoot] him a text. Sounded like [he] was getting the tests done.
“It’s a scary situation, right? Anytime that you hear anything that visceral like if it’s a blood clot, that is scary stuff. I want to get him back in here and hear from him and hopefully it’s not going to be too serious. Baseball is baseball. When it comes to someone’s health we need him healthy first. He’s got a family. We want to get him feeling good for them and then get him back to speed whenever we can.”
