PHILADELPHIA — As Zack Wheeler consulted specialists for a second and third opinion this week, the Phillies feared the worst. They operated with the assumption that Wheeler would not throw another pitch for them in 2025, a debilitating blow to a club carrying a franchise-record payroll and the highest of expectations. They had hoped for a miracle — that the blood clot removed from Wheeler’s right shoulder area was not the sign of a deeper problem.
But there was a consensus among the specialists. Wheeler was diagnosed with venous thoracic outlet syndrome and must undergo surgery to remove a rib. The Phillies estimate he’ll need six to eight months of recovery, which means his absence could seep into the 2026 season.
Wheeler, who turns 36 next May, faces a major hurdle to continuing his career at an elite level.
“We figure that he’ll come back in the six-to-eight month time period and come back and be the Zack Wheeler of old,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Saturday. “That’s what we’ve been told. Unless something unanticipated happened, he’ll be able to come back and pitch like he has before this.”
This procedure is considered far riskier than, say, elbow reconstruction through Tommy John surgery. It has ended careers or transformed pitchers into far diminished versions. But Wheeler’s version of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is not the most common among pitchers, the one that can damage nerves.
