Phils ace Wheeler not expected to be ready by Opening Day

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies do not expect Zack Wheeler to be ready by Opening Day.

It's not a huge surprise as the ace continues his rehab from his Sept. 23 thoracic outlet decompression surgery. Still, manager Rob Thomson essentially confirmed as much for the first time on Monday afternoon.

"He's doing well; I don't think he'll be ready for Opening Day," Thomson said. "But it's not going to be too far behind that."

It was always going to be pushing it for Wheeler to get fully back by Opening Day. The Phillies said the expected timeline for recovery was six to eight months from the date of the surgery.

That would put the window between late March and late May.

Wheeler threw this past weekend and it "went very good," per Thomson. The Phillies are still hopeful that it will be much closer to the first part of that timeline than the second.

The Phils obviously aren't going to rush back the 35-year-old Wheeler, who has been their Opening Day starter each of the past two seasons.

In Wheeler's absence, Cristopher Sánchez -- the reigning National League Cy Young runner-up -- becomes the obvious favorite to receive the Opening Day start when the Phillies host the Rangers on March 26 at Citizens Bank Park.

Beyond Sánchez, the Phillies figure to round out their rotation with Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker and top pitching prospect Andrew Painter.

The Phillies had hoped Painter would make his MLB debut last season, but the 22-year-old struggled throughout the year to regain his fastball command. In his return to the mound after missing the 2023 and '24 seasons due to Tommy John surgery, Painter finished with a 5.26 ERA in 26 starts between Triple-A Lehigh Valley (22 starts) Single-A Clearwater (four).

"I would think the last couple years have been taxing on him, not just mentally but emotionally, because he wants to pitch," Thomson said. "He wants to play, he wants to perform. So I think just being in this camp and not having to worry about any rehab stuff will clear his mind."

Once healthy, the Phillies are hoping to see the usual Wheeler as the season goes on. A vital part to the team's success over the past few seasons, Wheeler is 69-37 with a 2.91 ERA in six seasons since joining the Phillies. He has 1,094 strikeouts in 979 innings during that span, while also posting a 2.18 ERA in 12 postseason outings.

While the emergence of Sánchez and Luzardo last season certainly gives the club some wiggle room, the Phils know that having Wheeler -- who has received a share of Cy Young votes in five of his six seasons with the team -- at full strength gives them their best chance at winning that elusive World Series title.

In the meantime, Painter has the inside track for that final rotation spot -- and there isn't a lot of obvious competition at the moment. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski noted that adding to the organization's rotation depth remains a priority for the team in the coming days.

So, too, does moving outfielder Nick Castellanos, which Dombrowski said the club still hopes to do before starting camp later this week. Dombrowski was noncommittal about whether Castellanos would report to camp even if a move hasn't happened by that point.