“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Sure, Zack Wheeler had to say that at Monday’s press conference announcing his contract extension. But the words weren’t empty. Wheeler, who welcomed a daughter into the world just days before the extension was announced, wanted to stay with the Phillies organization. He repeatedly cited his family’s happiness when discussing his contract situation. “It’s not all about money to me,” said Wheeler when he arrived at spring training. “You don’t want to be miserable and be paid a lot. You want to be happy and get paid what you earned.”
The Phillies didn’t want Wheeler to be anywhere else either.
“Zack Wheeler is as fine a pitcher as there is in the game of baseball,” said Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski on Monday. The numbers back Dombrowski up. Since joining the Phillies on a five-year, $118 million deal, Wheeler is 43-25 with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He’s among the leaders in innings pitched, strikeouts, and anything else that matters over those years (2020-2023). And, perhaps most importantly, he pitches his best in the postseason.
“He’s one of the best big-game pitchers in the game of baseball. In the postseason when he takes that ball, I can’t think of anybody I’d rather have take the ball than Zack,” said Dombrowski. Wheeler has a 2.42 ERA in 11 postseason appearances, with opponents batting just .161 against him. He has 68 strikeouts in 63.1 innings pitched. And he has the best postseason WHIP of all time.
Wheeler’s camp and the Phillies didn’t start very far apart in negotiations over the extension. Dombrowski acknowledged Zack’s greatness upfront, saying “Let’s establish right now, he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball. Is he first, second, third? We don’t have to get into that. But he’s one of the best.” And Wheeler, like the club, preferred a short-term, high average annual value deal. “I don’t want to play until I’m old, old,” said Wheeler. “I want to be around my family.”
Phillies owner John Middleton, speaking to reporters after the press conference ended, said Wheeler’s representatives never requested any opt-out provisions in the contract.
Wheeler wanted certainty and stability for his growing family. The Philllies wanted certainty and stability at the top of their rotation. All the pieces fit together too perfectly for an extension to not get done.
Wheeler said he largely stayed out of negotiations and focused on his training, but there’s a good chance that looming free agency would have weighed on his mind. Now the 33-year-old righthander can more easily zero in on a championship.
“Playing in Citizens Bank in October, there’s nothing like it,” said Wheeler. Like the quote about not wanting to be anywhere else, something Wheeler had to say. And, like that first quote, something entirely heartfelt.
