Phillies’ Zack Wheeler delivers encouraging injury update that will excite fans

The Philadelphia Phillies were easy winners of the National League East a year ago. They finished 13 games ahead of the disappointing New York Mets. The Atlanta Braves are normally a playoff contender, but they got off to a brutal start in 2025 and never mounted a serious challenge.

The Phillies should be in a good position in 2026, but there are significant questions about their starting rotation. They lost Ranger Suarez when he signed with the Boston Red Sox in free agency and No. 1 starter Zack Wheeler is recovering from thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September.

Wheeler has been expected to need some time to recover and he is likely to miss the start of the season. However, he has made excellent progress and had a bullpen session Thursday and initial reports are positive. The Phillies are planning to give Wheeler six weeks to ramp up and possibly pitch in the big leagues at that point. There will be several check points to see if the progress continues, but Wheeler is feeling good about his ability to move forward and make a contribution.

“There’s been years where I came [to Spring Training] and I’m basically at where I’m at right now,” he said, per Todd Zolecki of Phillies.com. “It’s a little different, but at the same time I’m not too far behind.”

The Phillies are not going to push Wheeler past any of his limits. The idea is that when he is able to return, he won’t have any setbacks, and he will be able to take his spot at the head of the team’s rotation. If the Phillies are going to be a playoff team with a chance to compete against the National Leagues’ best teams, they need a healthy Wheeler in the rotation.

The post Phillies’ Zack Wheeler delivers encouraging injury update that will excite fans appeared first on ClutchPoints.