The Philadelphia Phillies don’t expect ace Zack Wheeler to be ready for Opening Day, but he told reporters Wednesday in Clearwater, Florida, that he’s encouraged by the progress he’s made in the nearly five months since his thoracic outlet decompression surgery.
He also revealed a humorous memento he received from that procedure.
The rib that was removed in order to prevent a vein under his collarbone from being crushed now lies in a small case.
“I just have it sitting it at the house,” Wheeler said upon reporting for spring training, per OnPattison’s Tim Kelly, drawing some laughter from reporters.
Naturally, a follow-up question was asked: “Where in the house?”
After a slight chuckle, Wheeler responded while smiling, “It’s in my closet.”
Wheeler had to have his thoracic outlet surgically altered because of the compression of that vein, which was caused by what’s known as venous thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS).
But first, he had a thrombolysis procedure to remove a blood clot near his right shoulder.
Wheeler’s NL Cy Young Award candidacy was disrupted when he reported discomfort following an Aug. 15 start this past season. After feeling an abnormal heaviness in his shoulder, he received evaluations the following day. That’s when his blood clot, officially in his “right upper extremity,” was discovered.
Wheeler, who will turn 36 in May, was asked Wednesday if there was any part of him that was unsure he’d be able to pitch again when he navigated his rare type of TOS.
“No,” Wheeler said, via OnPattison. “I think just any athlete, if you have a surgery, you’re optimistic about it. You always have that good mindset of you’re going to come back and be the same performer as you were. So that’s kind of my mindset the whole time is, ‘I’m going to be back to where I was.’
“I think that’s the right mindset to have.”
While the sample size isn’t large for major-league pitchers and TOS, Wheeler isn’t the first to make this kind of comeback. Arizona Diamondbacks righty Merrill Kelly did it in 2021.
The Phillies projected Wheeler’s recovery to take 6-8 months. Even if he’s not good to go by the start of the season, it’s possible he won’t need that much longer.
Wheeler threw this past weekend, and, according to Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson, it “went very good,” as reported by MLB.com.
Across his first six seasons with the Phillies, Wheeler has registered a 2.91 ERA. He’s piled up 1,094 strikeouts in 979 innings along the way.
Philadelphia’s hoping he returns to form.
“It is encouraging, the progress so far,” Wheeler said Wednesday, via OnPattison. “You kind of don’t know what to expect as you’re moving along. I’m sure there’s speed bumps that you’re going to hit along the way, as with any surgery or recovery. You just take it day-by-day, things as they come and go. Just trying to hit my checkmarks. … So far, so good with that. I’m really just trying to make sure the arm strength is there every phase that we get to and then move on to the next one.”
The three-time All-Star repeated: “So far, so good.”
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