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Phillies Announce Zack Wheeler Has Blood Clot

Originally posted on Philadelphia Phillies on SI
By Brad Wakai | Last updated Aug 16, 2025 7:26 PM ET

The Philadelphia Phillies suffered a frustrating loss on Saturday, dropping their game against the Washington Nationals by a score of 2-0, which guaranteed they can only split this series even with a win on Sunday.

However, immediately after the contest, what happened on the field was overshadowed by a statement made by president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski when addressing the future of Zack Wheeler.

Zack Wheeler Put on Injured List

In a shocking development, Dombrowski told the media that Wheeler has been diagnosed with having a blood clot near his right shoulder. This will land him on the 15-day injured list as he gets further evaluated back in Philadelphia.

The Phillies were mum with information beyond that, stating they wanted to give this time to see how it will play out. But there's no doubt that this was a shocking bit of news surrounding one of the game's best pitchers.

It also coincides with what was supposed to be positive news on Sunday, with Philadelphia set to activate Aaron Nola from the 60-day injured list after he recovered from his sprained ankle and rib issue that put him on the shelf earlier in the season.

Instead of having both aces in the rotation now, Wheeler will miss some time.

No Timetable for Wheeler's Return

Shoulder fatigue had been mentioned about Wheeler for a few weeks now, and it makes why that was the case based on the medical team finding this blood clot in the area of his pitching shoulder. While the main focus of this site surrounds the baseball aspect of things, it really is a good thing that this was discovered before anything got more severe.

With that said, the Phillies have to adapt going forward, and there is no clear timetable for his return at this point in time, with all options on the table for what is needed so he no longer has this clotting issue.

If and when he returns, how Wheeler might look is anyone's guess.

He had a ridiculous month of June where he posted a 0.58 ERA across five starts with 42 strikeouts and just seven walks in 31 innings pitched. He followed that up with a complete game on July 6 where he gave up just one run on a hit that was a homer.

Since that point, though, the NL Cy Young candidate hasn't looked the same, with him allowing multiple runs in all six of his outings since where he failed to pitch past the sixth inning in every single appearance.

Hopefully the medical team can resolve the blood clot Wheeler has both for his personal and professional reasons.