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Philadelphia Phillies veteran starter Zack Wheeler didn\u2019t wait until next year\u2019s free agency period to cash in on a new contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wheeler is staying in the City of Brotherly Love after inking a three-year deal worth $126 million, which kicks in during the 2025 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wheeler is set to make $23.5 million for the 2024 campaign.<\/p>\n
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Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies has signed a three-year deal worth $126 million.<\/span> (Carmen Mandato\/Getty Images\/File)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe 33-year-old, who pitched to a 3.61 ERA last season, explained why he took a short-term deal with the Phillies as he looks ahead to life after baseball.<\/p>\n
“I do enjoy pitching and I want to be here,” Wheeler said during a news conference on Monday at the Phillies\u2019 spring home, BayCare Ballpark. “I love competing. But I don\u2019t want to play until I\u2019m old-old. And I want to be around my family. But I\u2019m definitely enjoying the moment here, enjoying every moment I take the mound. It\u2019s special, and not everybody gets to do it. Not everybody gets to do it as long as I have. I\u2019m grateful for that.”<\/p>\n
Wheeler\u2019s $42 million per year that he will earn starting next season is the largest contract extension in MLB history.<\/p>\n
PHILLIES END LONG-STANDING $1 HOT DOG NIGHTS AFTER FANS THREW THEM ON FIELD LAST SEASON<\/strong><\/p>\nCompared to other veteran pitchers in MLB, Wheeler\u2019s price tag in 2025 is the third-highest average annual value for a pitcher, with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander ahead of him. It is also the fourth-highest of any player in MLB, the top spot going to Los Angeles Dodgers Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani after he signed a $700 million contract this offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski explained the Wheeler extension from the front-office perspective.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Zack Wheeler’s deal is the largest contract extension in MLB history.<\/span> (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n“We said, \u2018Well, let\u2019s establish right now he\u2019s one of the best pitchers in baseball,'” he explained. “Is he first, second, third? We don\u2019t have to get into that. But he\u2019s one of the\u00a0best. And the reality is, when you start not only talking about being one of the best pitchers, he\u2019s one of the best big-game pitchers in the game of baseball. So, in the postseason, when he takes that ball, I can\u2019t think of anybody that I would rather have to take the mound than Zack.”<\/p>\n
Since he joined the Phillies in 2020, Wheeler has started 10 games and made a relief appearance in the 2023 NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks last year, owning a 2.42 ERA over those outings. The only time he\u2019s struggled in the postseason was the 2020 World Series against the Houston Astros, where he had a 5.32 ERA over 10.1 innings in two starts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite the Phillies\u2019 loss to the D-Backs last season, Wheeler had a 1.84 ERA over 14.2 innings, giving up nine hits and three earned runs with 17 strikeouts to two walks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the regular season, Wheeler eats innings for the Phillies, which is great to preserve the bullpen. He had 192 innings last season, striking out 212 hitters to just 39 walks over 32 starts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His only All-Star appearance also came in Philly in 2021, when he had a league-leading 213.1 innings over 32 starts, owning a 2.78 ERA with 247 strikeouts. He finished second in Cy Young voting that year, losing the award to Milwaukee Brewers starter Corbin Burnes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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