Phillies manager Don Mattingly said that Zack Wheeler “felt physically fine” despite being removed early from Monday night’s game against the Marlins.
Wheeler allowed five runs in three innings, and his health was the subject of many overnight rumors after the training staff and coaches huddled in the dugout before removing Wheeler from the game. The veteran averaged 93.5 mph on his four-seamer and 93.1 mph on his sinker, both of which were down almost two mph from his season average. Considering Wheeler had a potentially career-ending blood clot injury last season, there was some concern that the 36-year-old was injured; however, Wheeler shot down those concerns after the game: “The ball just wasn’t coming out like I wanted to. My body wasn’t moving like I wanted it to. I was trying to get through it. Some games I can. Just today, I couldn’t.” We’ll see how his bullpen and arm maintenance sessions go during the week, but it seems like this may be just a one-game blip.
