A rib in a closet? That\u2019s a new one.<\/p>\n
For Zack Wheeler, it\u2019s also a sign he\u2019s finally moving toward full health \u2014 something that\u2019s felt far away since last summer.<\/p>\n
Pitchers and catchers reported to Clearwater on Wednesday, and Wheeler was back in front of the media. He\u2019s still early in his throwing progression after venous thoracic outlet decompression surgery, but the way he spoke made it sound less like a countdown and more like a process he\u2019s learning to live with.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is encouraging,\u201d Wheeler said of the reports about his offseason progress. \u201cI\u2019m sure there are speed bumps that you\u2019re going to hit along the way, this with any surgery or recovery. So, you just take day by day things as they come and go.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where the rib comes in.<\/p>\n
Wheeler explained that the procedure involved removing the first rib, and Paul Buchheit, the club’s head athletic trainer, preserved it for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did that for me and I just have it sitting at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where?<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my closet,\u201d Wheeler laughed.<\/p>\n
The rib isn\u2019t a novelty as much as it\u2019s proof of what happened and what\u2019s still ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Philadelphia finished the 2025 regular season with 96 wins, and it\u2019s easy now to forget that their ace, who was 10-4 with a 2.71 ERA in his first 24 starts, didn\u2019t pitch in the final month and a half, including the postseason.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also easy to forget how strange the injury was. Wheeler admitted as much.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe blood clot thing is something that\u2019s kind of rare and [you] don\u2019t expect to have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He credited the medical teams that helped get him to surgery and through the initial phase of recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe doctors took really good care of me,\u201d Wheeler said. \u201cI got to give credit to the doctors in DC\u2026 the [Washington] Nationals’ doctors\u2026 give credit to the doctors at Jefferson there in Philly and then\u2026 when I went to St. Louis to get it actually removed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wheeler said the first week after surgery was \u201creally tough\u201d from a soreness standpoint, and that the grind since has been about rebuilding the basics.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou battle the tightness and the soreness,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just gotten better as I\u2019ve worked with Paul\u2026 just getting the range of motion back and getting the strength back, slowly but surely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIt’s great to see Zack Wheeler on the first day of pitchers and catchers reporting at Phillies Spring Training. He discusses how he’s progressing from his thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
So where does the progress stand?<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I feel pretty much normal,\u201d Wheeler said.<\/p>\n
Normal doesn\u2019t mean ready. He\u2019s behind his usual spring schedule in terms of throwing, but he’s not discouraged.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually I would have been off the mound a few times by now,\u201d Wheeler said. \u201cRight now I\u2019m back to 90 feet\u2026 I\u2019m a little behind in the fact where I normally would be, but I\u2019m on time where I\u2019m supposed to be [in my recovery].\u201d<\/p>\n
That lines up with what Rob Thomson said earlier this week. The Phillies manager acknowledged Wheeler isn\u2019t expected to be ready for Opening Day, but also indicated it shouldn\u2019t be a long absence.<\/p>\n
Wheeler\u2019s take was more measured. He\u2019s already accepted he\u2019s missing Opening Day and sees \u201cno need\u201d in chasing the first possible date if it risks anything.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a practical way of looking at it, but it also speaks to how the Phillies have to operate around him. The rotation picture looks different when Wheeler isn\u2019t penciled in for the first turn through the schedule.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cristopher S\u00e1nchez and Jes\u00fas Luzardo will be asked to carry more early. Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker are coming off down seasons, and top pitching prospect Andrew Painter will get every opportunity be the club’s fifth-starter job.<\/p>\n
The new season is coming up, but the ache of missing the postseason hasn\u2019t gone away for the three-time All-Star. However, he fondly remembers his introduction at Citizens Bank Park before Game 1 of the NLDS.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty cool,\u201d Wheeler said. \u201cThose fans, they know baseball, they know sports\u2026 it was special for me and my family for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
The right-hander also addressed one other point that will strengthen the entire staff: J.T. Realmuto is back.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very exciting to have him back,\u201d Wheeler said. \u201cStarting pitching group, relievers, and starters. He\u2019s big for us\u2026 especially for me. So just having him back, having that comfort feeling back, it\u2019s going to be nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even when asked whether he\u2019s reached out to other pitchers who have dealt with thoracic outlet syndrome, Wheeler explained why he\u2019s avoided that route.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like everybody goes through different injuries differently,\u201d Wheeler said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be like, \u2018Oh, this guy felt this at a certain time,\u2019 and that\u2019s in my head\u2026 My body\u2019s going to heal like it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, the focus is on the small stuff: keep building strength, keep the mechanics clean, and keep stacking days without setbacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust getting the repetitive throwing,\u201d Wheeler said, \u201cjust making sure everything is in time and in sync.\u201d<\/p>\n
And yes, he\u2019s been doing plenty of it back home, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was cold,\u201d Wheeler said of being in Philadelphia during the offseason. \u201cIt was snowy\u2026 but it was good. I was able to get to the field and do rehab and all that type of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wheeler kept it as honest as possible. His impact on the mound will help a Phillies team trying to answer its biggest questions in October, and the Georgia native is focused on being part of the solution.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been chasing after a World Series over the past four or five years and we all want to get one,\u201d Wheeler said. \u201cSo it\u2019s my goal to get back and try to help us get one.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A rib in a closet? That\u2019s a new one. For Zack Wheeler, it\u2019s also a sign he\u2019s finally…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567712,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2398],"tags":[5,4,415,16702,414,71,4222],"class_list":{"0":"post-567711","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-nationals","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-nationals","11":"tag-phillies-news","12":"tag-washington","13":"tag-washington-nationals","14":"tag-washingtonnationals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116056334557932016","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}