![\"Zack](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zack-Wheeler-e1775338581826.jpg\")
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The Phillies are still anticipating Zack Wheeler returning to the majors in April, even after his rough rehab start<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia Phillies<\/a> have gotten off to a solid start<\/a> in the 2026 campaign, as they have posted a 4-3 record through their first seven games. There\u2019s reason to believe that the Phillies will continue to improve as the season unfolds, and it appears as if they are likely to get some help from some friendly faces in the near future.<\/p>\n One of those guys is starting pitcher Zack Wheeler<\/a>, who is recovering from surgery for venous thoracic outlet syndrome after undergoing a procedure to remove a blood clot in his shoulder. Philadelphia is hopeful that Wheeler can return to the majors in April, but he struggled in his most recent rehab outing. Still, it doesn\u2019t seem like the team\u2019s plans for Wheeler have changed.<\/p>\n Phillies Not Concerned with Zack Wheeler\u2019s Rehab Struggles<\/p>\n Since arriving in Philadelphia in 2020, Wheeler has been one of the most consistent starting pitchers in the majors. He\u2019s earned three All-Star selections during his time in town, while also earning a pair of second-place finishes in the National League Cy Young race. The Phillies have had a strong starting rotation seemingly every year during Wheeler\u2019s time in town, but he\u2019s always been the best of the bunch.<\/p>\n Wheeler was in the middle of another dominant campaign in 2025 (10-5, 2.71 ERA, 195 K, 0.94 WHIP) when a scary blood clot situation resulted in him getting shut down. As noted above, Wheeler would eventually undergo surgery on his shoulder, which resulted in him being forced to miss the start of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n After a strong first rehab start, Wheeler got rocked on Friday night, as he gave up five runs on four hits and two walks while striking out just one over three innings of work. Wheeler didn\u2019t get much help from his defense behind him, though, and it sounds like the Phillies aren\u2019t concerned with this tough outing, as the expectation is still that he will be back in the majors<\/a> later in April.<\/p>\n \u201cRegardless, barring any setbacks, the veteran right-hander remains on track to rejoin Philadelphia\u2019s rotation at some point in April,\u201d Paul Casella of MLB<\/a>.com reported.<\/p>\n Zack Wheeler Trending in the Right Direction for the Phillies GettySAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA \u2013 JULY 12: Zack Wheeler #45 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches during the first inning of a game against the San Diego Padres<\/a> at Petco Park on July 12, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n It\u2019s still very early in the season, so the Phillies aren\u2019t going to rush Wheeler back to the majors before he\u2019s ready. However, it\u2019s clear that the team wants to get its best pitcher back on the mound, as it is hopeful he can pick up right where he left off in 2025. As this rehab start showed, though, it may take some time until Wheeler regains his All-Star form.<\/p>\n Wheeler will make at least one more rehab start for Philadelphia before it figures out what the plan is for him moving forward. The starting rotation as currently constructed can certainly hold down the fort, but the addition of Wheeler could take this group to another level. While the exact date of Wheeler\u2019s next rehab start has not been announced yet, he is expected to be back on the mound at some point next week.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tOwen Crisafulli<\/a> Owen Crisafulli is an Email Newsletter Editor & Breaking News Writer at Heavy Sports. His work has also appeared on ClutchPoints, Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, Athlon Sports, NESN Basketball Network, and FanSided, where he shared his insights on a variety of sports topics primarily surrounding the NFL, NBA, and MLB. More about Owen Crisafulli<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Phillies\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The Phillies are still anticipating Zack Wheeler returning to the majors in April, even after his rough…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663542,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2397],"tags":[5,4,144,25,4216,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-663541","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-phillies","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-philadelphia","11":"tag-philadelphia-phillies","12":"tag-philadelphiaphillies","13":"tag-phillies"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116348845582148688","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663541","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=663541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Zack](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MLB-Heavy-Thumbnail_20260328_163535_0002.png\")
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