This past week Rich Hill proved he isn’t over the Hill (forgive me, I couldn’t resist) by pitching in an MLB game at 45 years of age. He pitched pretty well, too—he got only a single, lonely strikeout, but he only allowed one run across five innings of work. That workmanlike approach and longevity is why he’s played for almost half of MLB’s clubs. That half doesn’t include the Phillies, though. Hill’s played all along the east coast (Baltimore, Boston, both New York clubs) and in the Keystone State with the Pirates, but never for the Phillies.
Hill’s status as baseball’s Methuselah got me thinking, though. Who among today’s Phillies will play to the oldest age? Will any current member of the team play past age 47, thus beating the record for oldest Phillie, currently held by Jamie Moyer and Kaiser Wilhelm? Probably not (Moyer’s ability to resist aging was truly rare, and Wilhelm only had an age 47 season because he pitched in four games as a player-manager, a role that no longer really exists). But someone has to have the longest career, and it’ll be fun to guess who.
Let’s break down the candidates as we look to the Phuture.
Zack Wheeler:
Wheeler is currently the oldest member of the Phillies at 35. The fact that he seemingly hasn’t lost a step, being a Cy Young frontrunner in his mid-thirties, bodes well for his longevity. So does the fact that he is remarkably adaptable, constantly experimenting, tweaking, and updating his approach; even the most durable hurler will lose velocity as they age, and an ability to seek out, accept, and perfect the changes in approach needed to get batters out despite that is a must-have skill for a would-be greybeard moundsman. There is, however, one major barrier to Wheeler’s candidacy: willingness. He has said that he intends to retire after his current contract expires in 2027. A change of heart could easily see him reach an age 40 season, but Wheeler seems like the sort of person who knows what he wants and doesn’t second guess himself—likely part of why he’s been so successful. Even if he does pitch for longer than currently planned, it seems unlikely that he’ll do it long enough to match Moyer and Wilhelm.
Bryce Harper:
A day where Bryce Harper is no longer playing baseball is conceivable, but only just. It’s been nearly a decade and a half since baseball was Bryceless, and when the dawn of the first day following his retirement arrives, Philadelphia will be bereft. Fortunately, we ought to have a good, long time before Bryce bows out. His current contract takes him through his age 38 season, and he has said that he would like to play beyond that. There is no reason to doubt his will to do so. As for his ability to do so, there’s more room for doubt. The aging curve, dreaded and dismal, comes for us all. Betting on senescence to conquer even the greatest of heroes is a safe gamble. But Harper is exceptional in just about every regard, and it would not be terribly surprising to see him get the upper hand in the battle against aging— not forever, of course, but long enough to play into his 40s. Even if he does lose a step or two, the reserves of good will he’s built among the organization, city, and fans are so extensive that it’s difficult to imagine him being forced out before he’s ready to go.
Aaron Nola:
Though a few years younger than Wheeler, Nola is the longest-tenured Phillie, having first toed the mound in that odd, lost season of 2015. He’s also going to be with the Phillies for quite some time to come, having signed a contract prior to last season that will see him in Phillies pinstripes when he turns 37— the same age that Wheeler will be when his current contract expires. Unlike Wheeler, Nola has not expressed any intention to depart from baseball following the end of his current contract, though he hasn’t stated the opposite, either. Nola has quietly, diligently done his job as a Phillie, and one can imagine a future in which his workmanlike approach carries his career into his 40s, a true bridge between generations of Fightins. But there are questions about his future, raised by questions about his present. Nola’s disappointing start to the 2025 campaign has been somewhat forgotten thanks both to his lengthy stint on the injured list and the struggles faced by Jesús Luzardo, but the uncertainty around his performance cannot be ignored. Nola has struggled and bounced back before, and perhaps we’ll see him rejuvenated following a rest and reset. But if we don’t, we’ll be too busy wondering about his ability to play well through his current contract to think about the next one.