For an ace, a true ace, there is no more defining trait than availability.
From 2020 through 2024, the trio of Zack Wheeler, Corbin Burnes and Gerrit Cole ranked second (Wheeler), third (Burnes) and 12th (Cole) in innings pitched. Combined, they made nine All-Star Games, won two Cy Youngs, finished runner-up three other times and started 26 postseason games. On an annual basis, they are the first (Wheeler), fifth (Cole) and sixth (Burnes) highest-paid pitchers in the game. All were no-doubt No. 1 pitcher material.
Arm injuries, as they tend to do, derailed the joyride for these three in 2025. Cole missed the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery during spring training. Burnes, in Year 1 of a hefty new contract with the Diamondbacks, also had elbow surgery after feeling tightness during a June 1 start. Wheeler’s ailment was even more dire; he went on the IL after doctors discovered a blood clot near his right shoulder. The issue turned out to be thoracic outlet syndrome, and Wheeler had a rib removed as part of the ensuing surgery.
All three hurlers are now on the road to recovery, all three are expected to return at some point in 2026, and all three are absolutely crucial to their clubs’ aspirations. Wheeler, impressively, is on track to be back first and should recapture his spot atop Philadelphia’s rotation in late April.
Then it’ll be Cole, whose impending return surely deterred the Yankees from making a significant offseason addition. Burnes will be last and the most important; Arizona’s 2026 plan is essentially to tread water until he and a pair of key relievers come off the IL this summer. But being healthy and being hearty are two different things. Just how quickly will these aces get back to being aces? That answer could completely reshape the playoff picture.
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