When will Zack Wheeler return to the Philadelphia Phillies lineup?
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies heading into spring training is the status of Zack Wheeler, as he recovers from a major shoulder injury that cut his stellar 2025 season short.
Wheeler had thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last August, and had an originally timetabled period of six to eight months. He’ll almost certainly not be on Philadelphia’s Opening Day roster due to the injury, but it might not be long after that that the 35-year-old is back in the Phillies’ rotation.
Matt Gelb of The Athletic recently appeared on MLB Network and gave a rather encouraging update on where Wheeler stands in his recovery.
“I think there’s been a lot of optimism among the Phillies about how he’s progressed. He stayed here in the area in Philly in the offseason, and was doing his workouts and doing his strength work with Phillies’ athletic trainers [and] coaches,” Gelb explained.
Jul 21, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) checks the baseball after allowing a run during the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn ImagesThe fact that the Phillies appear to be optimistic about Wheeler’s rehab is great, but what does that mean for when the starter could return to the mound?
“With this kind of procedure, I think they're going to be cautious,” continued Gelb.
“I don't think Zack Wheeler is going to be on the roster Opening Day, but I think it's going to be closer to April 1 than to June 1. If I had to take guesss, I think it’d be sometime around May 1, I think is probably what they're targeting for, and that's one of the reasons why they haven't added a ton of rotation depth this offseason. I think they are confident that Wheeler is going to be back sooner rather than later.”
If Wheeler truly is back 25 percent through the season, instead of 50 percent, that would obviously be a massive boost for Philadelphia’s rotation, but there will still be questions about how the 35-year-old will respond after such a major injury.
Will Wheeler be the same pitcher who had a 2.71 ERA and 0.94 WHIP when he came back? Time will be the only answer to that question.
However, the Phillies' rotation is better with Wheeler than without him.
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