Zack Wheeler once sounded like a pitcher who might be ready to close the book after his current deal runs out in 2027. Now, that plan may not be as firm as it seemed.
Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY reported this week that the Phillies right-hander could be open to extending his career beyond that point. Wheeler, who has been excellent since returning from injury, isn’t shutting the door on another run.
“We’ll see,” Wheeler said, per Nightengale. “It’ll probably depend on what happens next year. It’s something to think about for sure.”
That matters because Wheeler has spent the last five seasons building something that looks a lot like a Hall of Fame case in Philadelphia. He arrived in 2020 and has been one of the best starters in baseball ever since, and even at 36, he’s still carrying the kind of workload and production that make him the anchor of the rotation.
His 2025 season has been especially impressive. Wheeler has posted a 2.16 ERA with 117 strikeouts in 100 innings pitched. He’s just shy of the innings qualifier for starters, but if he were on the board right now, that ERA would rank third in MLB.
The comeback angle only sharpens the story. Wheeler was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome midway through 2025, then missed the final two months of the season, including the postseason.
It was the kind of health issue that can end careers, not just seasons. Instead, less than a year later, he’s back and pitching like himself again.
He also just turned 36 in May, but the Phillies still lean on him like the workhorse he’s been alongside Cristopher Sánchez. And if he keeps going, the résumé keeps growing.
Wheeler leads all pitchers with 31.7 fWAR since joining Philadelphia in 2020. He also owns a 2.84 ERA in 173 starts and has piled up 79 wins, both franchise-defining numbers in their own right.
The Hall of Fame has clearly crossed his mind, too.
“The Hall of Fame would be life-changing,” Wheeler stated, per Nightengale. “You know, something I don’t take lightly.
It’s definitely something that everybody shoots for coming into pro baseball, even as a kid. You want your face and name on that plaque.
It’s there forever.”
Philadelphia’s current rotation setup could make a longer run feel more realistic. The Phillies also have Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, and Aaron Nola under contract for the foreseeable future, which gives Wheeler a chance to keep pitching in a strong environment if he decides he’s not done.
The numbers still leave him with a steep climb. Wheeler has 123 career wins, and that would be the lowest total for any pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame. The current low-water mark is 145, set by William "Candy" Cummings, who was elected in 1939.
He’s also had to deal with the kind of recognition gaps that don’t show up in a box score: missed All-Star votes, Cy Young snubs, and a long stretch of being undervalued as one of the decade’s best postseason arms. Even so, Wheeler has kept stacking quality seasons and giving himself more room to change the conversation.
If he keeps pitching this way, and keeps pitching long enough, the case gets stronger.
In Other News...
Phillies Just Got A Deadline Opening They Couldn't Ignore
The outfield market may be thin enough that one available bat can suddenly matter to a lot of contenders, and that is where the Giants have created a little more intrigue. San Francisco is expected to keep Jung Hoo Lee in right field, but a report from USA Todays Bob Nightengale says the club is open to moving a different outfielder, one who has enough age, control and present-day production to draw attention from teams looking for help before the deadline.
For the Phillies, that kind of opening is hard to ignore. A 26-year-old with a .738 OPS this season and a track record of being a useful everyday piece is the sort of player who can fit multiple clubs, which is why the Giants are believed to be eyeing a strong return. Philadelphia is among the teams watching the market, and in a weak outfield pool, the cost of waiting can rise quickly if a player like this starts drawing serious interest. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies May Be Risking A Rising Arm At The Worst Time
As the trade deadline approaches, the Phillies are once again weighing whether to add from the outside, and that usually means parting with something real from a farm system that does not have a lot of surplus to spare. The organizations aging core has pushed the front office toward win-now decisions before, and this time the conversation has centered on pitching depth, where one of the systems most promising arms has been drawing attention for the way he has handled a jump through the minors.
The dilemma is familiar for a club trying to stay aggressive without hollowing out what little upper-level talent it has left. Philadelphia has already seen top prospects slowed by injuries or uneven production, which makes every live arm matter more than usual, and the temptation to use a rising pitcher as the centerpiece of a deadline deal is obvious. The question now is whether the Phillies are willing to move that kind of upside when the stakes around the roster are so high. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Suddenly Face A Deadline Call Fans Have Dreaded
With the trade deadline approaching, the Phillies are still looking for help in all the places that tend to matter most in October: the lineup, the rotation and the bullpen. Kansas City has become one of the more obvious clubs to watch in that market, and Philadelphia has been tied to a few different Royals pieces as it tries to sharpen the roster for the stretch run.
Michael Wacha is the kind of veteran arm that can make sense for a team wanting steadiness behind its front-line starters, while Lane Thomas would give the Phillies another outfield option with some upside. The Royals direction has only become clearer as the season has worn on and Bobby Witt Jr. landed on the injured list, which makes Kansas City a club more likely to listen than to push back, even if the asking price on certain arms could still shape how far this goes. [Read more 🡒]