The Phillies’ “No. 1 precedence” for the rest of the offseason “is signing ace Zack Wheeler to a contract extension,” MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Wheeler is about to be a free agent subsequent winter, as he’s coming into the ultimate season of his five-year, $118M contract.
4 seasons in, that deal has been an unqualified success from the Phillies’ perspective. Wheeler has essentially the most fWAR (19.3) of any starter in baseball for the reason that begin of the 2020 season, as he has posted a 3.06 ERA, 26.7% strikeout charge, 5.3% stroll charge, and 47% grounder charge over 629 1/3 regular-season innings in a Philadelphia uniform. The proper-hander has been much more dominant throughout the postseason, delivering a 2.42 ERA over 63 1/3 playoff innings to assist carry the Phillies to an NL pennant and an NLCS look over the past two seasons.
There aren’t many crimson flags on Wheeler as he enters his age-34 season, even when his 3.61 ERA in 2023 was the best of his Philadelphia tenure. He generated fewer grounders and allowed a bit extra arduous contact than typical, and Wheeler relied extra closely on his signature four-seamer than ever earlier than — he decreased his cutter utilization for the reason that secondary pitch wasn’t as efficient because it had been in 2021-22.
Well being-wise, Wheeler underwent Tommy John surgical procedure in 2015 and battled another arm issues throughout his time with the Mets in 2016-17. He has been fairly sturdy ever since, and a month-long bout of forearm tendinitis late within the 2022 season ended up being comparatively minor, as Wheeler returned in sturdy type for the Phillies’ playoff run.
Along with his monitor document of success and sturdiness, Wheeler figures to be probably the most sought-after members of the 2024-25 free agent class, even when he’ll be turning 35 in Might 2025. As such, Wheeler and his representatives at Wasserman may hunt down a little bit of a premium from the Phillies to maintain the righty from testing the market. A four-year extension isn’t an unreasonable ask given Wheeler’s comparatively clear current well being historical past, and topping the $23.6M common annual worth on his present contract looks as if a given.
The Phillies have proven a willingness to spend massive in buying and retaining star gamers over the previous couple of seasons, even when this hasn’t manifested itself in lots of precise extensions. Jose Alvarado and Seranthony Dominguez are the one Phillies to signal extensions throughout Dave Dombrowski’s three-plus years as president of baseball operations, and people comparatively modest offers (two years and $18.55M in new cash for Alvarado, two years and $7.25M for Dominguez) aren’t within the stratosphere of what it’ll take to lock up Wheeler. Whereas the Phillies saved Aaron Nola and J.T. Realmutowithin the fold on new contracts, the Phils let each gamers attain the open market first earlier than finally re-signing the duo.
It was simply over a month in the past that Nola was re-signed to a seven-year, $172M deal, cementing the right-hander as a staple of the Phils’ rotation by way of the remainder of the last decade. Nola joins Bryce Harper and Trea Turner as Philadelphia gamers who’re already signed by way of at the least the 2030 season, plus Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber are on the books by way of 2025, and Taijuan Walker and Nick Castellanos are signed by way of 2026. An extension for Wheeler would put yet one more hefty contract on the group’s ledger, although spending massive on star expertise has lengthy been Dombrowski’s M.O. The Phillies have exceeded the posh tax in every of the final two seasons and are projected to be properly over at the least the primary tax threshold in 2024, so proprietor John Middleton isn’t displaying any indicators of slicing again given how shut the Phillies have come to a championship.
That mentioned, it looks as if lots of the heavy lifting is over on the Phillies’ 2023-24 offseason work, now that Nola has been re-signed and Yoshinobu Yamamoto is formally off the market. Signing Yamamoto would have arguably been a luxurious for the group, but the group seen him as a particular participant worthy of a robust push, and Dombrowski advised Zolecki and different reporters that “I feel we had been extraordinarily aggressive” in at the least getting Yamamoto’s consideration.
“We had been aggressive. Once we made our presentation [to Yamamoto’s representatives], I feel our guys did an incredible job,” Dombrowski mentioned. “I feel they offered the group properly….I don’t assume it had something to do with anything, he simply most popular to be a Dodger. Finally he was simply not an individual attuned to coming to Philly.”
When it comes to additional pursuits, Dombrowski mentioned different additions would come “extra across the edges” of the roster, since a lot of Philadelphia’s 26-man is already set. This may take the type of bullpen assist and depth/swingman sort of pitchers for the rotation, and Dombrowski downplayed the concept of including one other outfielder. With Harper now the common first baseman and Schwarber the common DH, the Phillies may have Castellanos, Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas, Cristian Pache, Jake Cave, Simon Muzziotti, and utilitymen Weston Wilson and Kody Clemens all within the combine for outfield taking part in time.
