Opening Day Injury Updates on Two Phillies Pitchers

Two pitchers who didn't begin the season on the Phillies' active roster were at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday afternoon for Opening Day. Zack Wheeler threw a bullpen session two days before the first start of his rehab assignment, and Orion Kerkering also made the trip north from Clearwater.

Wheeler will pitch for Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday. The expectation is three innings and/or 50 pitches. It will begin a 30-day clock after which the Phillies would have to active him from the injured list. The 30th day from Saturday is April 27, when the Phillies are off after a weeklong trip to Chicago and Atlanta.

That timeframe, the third or fourth week of April, could be when Wheeler makes his season debut. It is the same time the Phillies' schedule normalizes and their weekly off days cease. Beginning on April 28, they'll play 22 games in 23 days. That could be an ideal time to temporarily use a six-man rotation to ease Wheeler back in while also saving rookie Andrew Painter from using up too many early innings after setting a career-high in 2025 with 118.

Wheeler has been ahead of schedule since spring training began. Initial expectations for his return were some time in May but he's sped ahead of that range. He is ramping up from surgery last September 23 to correct venous thoracic outlet syndrome.

"If I'm ready to go, I'm ready to go," Wheeler said after his first bullpen session in late February when asked if there was any logic to slow-playing his return. "I don't think I have any problems when October comes usually. I don't think this year is any different than any other year trying to preserve."

Kerkering headed to Lehigh

Kerkering will also pitch an inning in the game Wheeler starts on Saturday. The 25-year-old right-handed reliever is on the injured list with a right hamstring strain but should be back when first eligible on April 10 to begin a homestand against the Diamondbacks and Cubs.

"We'll sort of build him like we build our relievers in spring training," manager Rob Thomson said before Thursday's season-opener against the Rangers. "He'll get a back-to-back somewhere in there. Lehigh goes to Durham, he'll go with the team, he'll get a back-to-back in there. He'll probably have, by the time he's done, seven or eight outings, which is pretty consistent with the other guys."

Whose spot will he take?

Kerkering's absence created an Opening Day roster spot for one final Phillies reliever. The last three to make the team were lefties Kyle Backhus and Tim Mayza and righty Zach Pop. One will be the roster casualty once Kerkering is ready. Backhus can be optioned to Triple-A. The other two cannot and would have to be designated for assignment first. That said, it might not be a disadvantage for Backhus because keeping an optionable reliever in the bullpen is a goal for most teams for the purpose of flexibility.

Backhus was one of two Phillies relievers to make his first Opening Day roster this year, the other being Jonathan Bowlan, acquired from the Royals in December for Matt Strahm.