Before the Philadelphia Phillies’ series finale against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday afternoon, manager Rob Thomson raised some concerns among fans. According to multiple Phillies beat writers, Thomson revealed that the team plans to delay Zack Wheeler’s next start by a couple of days due to shoulder soreness, as reported by MLB.com’s Paul Casella.
Originally set to start the opener of the series against the Texas Rangers on Friday, Wheeler’s outing has now been pushed to Sunday. But what’s the story behind the right-hander’s shoulder issue?
Rob Thomson reveals Phillies’ ace Zack Wheeler had shoulder soreness
As reported by Dave Uram of KYW Newsradio, Thomson addressed the situation with the media before the Phillies fell 5-1 to the Orioles. According to the manager, Wheeler experienced shoulder soreness following his start last Saturday against the Detroit Tigers. Fortunately, imaging results came back clear, which provided some reassurance regarding the injury.
“Wheeler came out of his last start a little sore, more sore than he normally is,” Thomson told the media. “We got an image done. It’s clean. We’re just going to give him a couple extra days.”
“He’s fine, so if he’s ready to go Sunday … ,” Thomson said, per Casella. “Obviously, we can back him up even more if we need to, because we have the off-day [on Thursday].”
Wheeler didn’t throw for a couple of days because of the soreness but played catch on Wednesday.
Thomson elaborated on Wheeler’s shoulder, saying that he does think it affected his command, which was a problem for the 35-year-old ace in his last outing. Wheeler himself blamed poor command for his difficulties last weekend against the Tigers.
Did Wheeler’s complete game contribute to his recent struggles with command?
Thomson suggested that Wheeler’s complete game against the Cincinnati Reds on July 7 could be a potential factor contributing to his current shoulder soreness. When asked about the possibility of allowing any of his pitchers to throw another complete game this season, Thomson didn’t commit to the idea, leaving the door open but cautious about overextending his pitchers.
“I hope not. It bothers me, it really does. It scares me, it concerns me,” Thomson said. “When a guy’s got a low pitch count, he wants it so it’s hard to take it away. I know that there’s some effects that are put on the body on the arm, fatigue.”
After that masterful nine-inning, one-run, 12-strikeout performance against the Reds, Wheeler had a 2.17 ERA in 18 starts. He has allowed 13 earned runs in 23 2/3 innings for a very un-Wheeler-like 4.94 ERA in the four games since.
Any whisper of a Wheeler injury would send the fan base into a tailspin. Despite the rotation being the Phillies’ strength, it would look much less threatening if Wheeler were to miss any amount of time.
The good news is, as long as the Phillies are careful (as they are being) and Wheeler is cleared to continue his second half, there shouldn’t be much for Phillies fans to worry about. Wheeler has been about as good as he has ever been this year. He’s still 9-5 on the season with a 2.64 ERA and leads the National League with 182 strikeouts in 139 2/3 innings.
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