The Philadelphia Phillies don’t expect ace Zach Wheeler to be ready for Opening Day, but he told reporters Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla., that he’s encouraged by the progress made in the nearly five months since thoracic outlet decompression surgery.
He also revealed a humorous memento he received during the operation.
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The ribs, which had been removed to prevent the subclavian vein from being crushed, were now placed in a small box.
“I’m just leaving it at home,” Wheeler said while covering spring training, drawing laughter from reporters, according to OnPattison’s Tim Kelly.
Naturally, another question came up: “Where in the house?”
After a slight smile, Wheeler replied with a smile: “In my closet.”
Wheeler had to have surgery to alter his thoracic outlet due to venous compression, caused by what’s called venous thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS).
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But first, he underwent thrombolytic surgery to remove a blood clot near his right shoulder.
Wheeler’s NL Cy Young Award candidacy was derailed when he reported feeling unwell after his first start on Aug. 15 last season. He was evaluated the next day after feeling unusually heavy in his shoulder. That’s when his blood clot was discovered, officially located in his “right upper limb.”
Wheeler turns 36 in May, and he was asked Wednesday as he navigated the rare TOS type if there was any part of him that wasn’t sure he’d be able to pitch again.
“No,” Wheeler said via OnPattison. “I think any athlete, if you have surgery, you’re optimistic about it. You always have a good mentality that you’re going to come back and be the same performer you were before. So that’s been my mentality all the time, ‘I’m going to get back to where I was.’
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“I think that’s the right mentality.”
While the sample size isn’t large for major league pitchers and TOS, Wheeler isn’t the first to make a comeback. Arizona Diamondbacks righty Merrill Kelly did just that in 2021.
The Phillies expect Wheeler’s recovery to take 6-8 months. Even if he starts the season poorly, he may not need that long.
Wheeler pitched last weekend, and the game “went really well,” according to Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson, MLB.com reported.
In his first six seasons with the Phillies, Wheeler had a 2.91 ERA. He racked up 1,094 strikeouts in 979 innings.
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Philadelphia hopes he returns to form.
“The progress so far is encouraging,” Wheeler said Wednesday, via OnPattison. “When you go forward, you kind of don’t know what to expect. I’m sure you’re going to hit speed bumps along the way, just like any surgery or recovery. You just take it day by day and things come and go. Just trying to get to my goals… So far, so good. I’m really just trying to make sure we have arm strength every stage we get to and then move on to the next stage.”
“So far, so good,” the three-time All-Star repeated.
