Phillies to Put Zack Wheeler on Injured List With Blood Clot

Major League Baseball's strikeout leader will miss time.

Zack Wheeler leads Major League Baseball in strikeouts. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Phillies will be without their ace for the immediate future.

Philadelphia is putting starting pitcher Zack Wheeler on the injured list without a timetable for his return, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters Saturday afternoon via Jake Mintz of Yahoo! Sports. According to Dombrowski, Wheeler has an “upper extremity blood clot" and will undergo further testing once the team returns home after a Sunday morning road game against the Nationals.

Wheeler, 35, is currently leading Major League Baseball in strikeouts with 195 and the National League with a WHIP of 0.94. He is 10-5 in 2025 with a 2.71 ERA.

Among baseball's very best pitchers since his 2021 breakthrough, Wheeler made his third All-Star team in July. Thanks to the two-time NL Cy Young runner-up's success, the Phillies are currently 70-53 with a 5.5-game lead over the Mets in the NL Central race.

In his start Friday, Wheeler beat Washington 6–2 with five innings of two-run ball. He allowed four hits and two walks while striking out six.

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