As disappointing as it is, Rob Thomson says Phillies ‘gotta just keep moving forward’ without Zack Wheeler
PHILADELPHIA — Zack Wheeler’s 2025 season is over. On Saturday, the Phillies announced the right-hander has venous thoracic outlet syndrome and will undergo thoracic outlet decompression surgery “in the coming weeks.” He’ll miss six to eight months.
The news comes seven days after the Phillies placed Wheeler on the 15-day injured list due to a blood clot in his upper right extremity.
Wheeler’s absence has major implications for the Phillies and their starting rotation moving forward. Six weeks away from the postseason, and they’re without their ace for the duration.
“It’s disappointing to lose him,” manager Rob Thomson said, “but we have a lot of depth (in the starting rotation), and all over the club.”
The team was already operating as if they were going to be without Wheeler for the rest of the season, said Thomson. The plan for now will be to go with a five-man rotation. A six-man rotation is a possibility when rosters expand to 28 players at the start of September. The club will have more flexibility at that point.
Without immediately adding another starter to the mix, Thomson feels comfortable with his current staff. He likes what he’s seen from it this week.
“The three lefties threw very well,” Thomson said. “I was proud of (Taijuan Walker) getting through five innings last night. We’ll see what (Aaron Nola) has today. I’m expecting more out of him today.”
Nola was activated from the injured list last weekend after a lengthy absence. His outing last Sunday came against the same club he’ll face Saturday in the Washington Nationals. After a strong first and second inning six days ago, Nola allowed six runs in the bottom of the third. He was removed after getting just one out in the frame.
Nola becomes much more important in Wheeler’s absence. Walker aside, he’s the lone righty in the Phillies rotation now. He’s likely their only righty in line to start come the postseason.
In the second year of a seven-year, $172 million contract, the Phillies need Nola to find his form down the stretch. Thomson believes command will be key for Nola. Thomson wasn’t too discouraged about Nola’s first start back, which he re-watched Saturday morning.
“It was just a weird game,” said Thomson. “Although he maybe lost a little bit of command, he didn’t really lose all that much. They hit a couple of balls hard, but … there was just some bad luck.”
Thomson later added: “I expect good things out of Nola. I really do. He’s done it for a long time. He’s experienced. He’s gone through ruts and come out of it in the past. He’s gonna be fine.”
Nola’s performance, along with the rest of the rotation, isn’t the only important thing moving forward for the Phillies. General pitching depth is, too.
“It digs into our depth a little,” said Thomson. “We’ve got a couple of long stretches, so we’re going to be very careful with our starters. Even if we had Zack, we’d still be very careful because these are some long stretches.”
The Phillies played 13 games in 13 days before having an off day ahead of this weekend’s series at Citizens Bank Park against the Nationals. Saturday is the second of an 11-day stretch without an off day. They’re slated for an even longer stretch without a day off — 15 games in 15 days — following a day off on Sept. 2.
Thomson reiterated that it’s disappointing to be without Wheeler moving forward. But he’s happy his ace is going to be okay.
“I think it’s disappointing, but I think everybody knows it’s out of our control,” said Thomson. “And we’re happy that he’s going to be healthy. This is a very serious thing that he went through.”
Beyond the rotation, Thomson doesn’t think his club will flinch. Baseball players, by nature, have to keep going, no matter what happens.
“I think they’re baseball players,” said Thomson. “They just kind of move on. They’ve got a game today, and they’re not going to cancel it. We’ve got another game tomorrow, so you gotta just keep moving forward.”