Zack Wheeler would like a long-term deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.
The right-handed pitcher’s five-year, $118 million contract will expire at the end of the 2024 season, and Wheeler would like nothing more than to have everything buttoned up before the season starts.
According to Phillies president of operations Dave Dombrowski, the team feels the same. In fact, Dombrowski told reporters on Monday that Wheeler, who will earn $23.6 million this season, is a priority for the front office.
“Zack would not mislead you; of course, we’ve talked,” Dombrowski said via ESPN. “It is a priority. We would love to get that deal done.
“He’s a guy we would love to have in our organization for a long time.”
When pitchers and catchers reported to spring training last week, Wheeler explained the deal could happen at anytime, he’d like to be paid for how he’s performed, and the 33-year-old has no interest in being in the middle of negotiations.
That’s what his agent is for.
“Yeah, I think they’ve talked,” Wheeler said on Wednesday. “I know they are chatting. I think it could happen any time, honestly.
“Hopefully it does [get done before the season.] I love it here. It’s a good organization, we’re winning and things are looking great and right. I’d love to be here.”
In the four seasons that Wheeler has been in Philadelphia, he owns a 43-25 record with a 3.06 ERA. The 2.42 ERA Wheeler owners in the playoffs is the sixth-best in league history — minimum 10 starts.
Wheeler has been a perennial voting recipient for the Cy Young Award — finishing in the top 12 in three of those seasons. And he currently trails only the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole, Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara and Phillies’ teammate Aaron Nola in regular-season innings pitched (629 1/3) in that span.
In the last two seasons, Philadelphia has rode both Wheeler and Nola to back-to-back National League Championship Series trips and a 2022 World Series appearance against the Houston Astros. The Phillies lost 4-3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS in 2023.
“We love Zack Wheeler,” manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s a huge part of this ball club. I don’t really know if we’re in the contract negotiation, tell the truth. I can tell you this, though, everybody here in this organization loves Zack Wheeler.”
Nola was in a similar predicament with Philadelphia last season — playing the season on the final year of his deal. He tested free agency only for a moment before the Phillies signed him to a seven-year, $172 million deal.
So the team already has a roadmap for how to navigate this situation, and Wheeler said seeing how negotiations went with his fellow ace, he believes he’s in a good place either way.
“I want to be paid on how I’ve done, what they expect out of me,” said Wheeler. “It’s not all about the money to me. I took less to come here and be in a good spot, be happy. I do want what I feel like I’ve earned.
“I’ve done well the past couple years, past few years, so hopefully that speaks for itself. I don’t see any pressure, one way or another. I’m leaving that to my agent and the front office. I’m hands-off and listening.”
