Major news broke in baseball when the Philadelphia Phillies finalized a three-year contract extension worth $126 million with their standout player, Zack Wheeler, following an exceptional season on Monday. Wheeler, joined by the team’s president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, discussed the agreement with the media. The recently recompensed pitcher emphasized his desire not to continue pitching into his older years, noting his current age of 33 and impending 34th birthday in late May, as reported by Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
“I do enjoy pitching, and I want to be here,” Wheeler said. “I love competing. But I don’t want to play until I’m old-old. And I want to be around my family. But I’m definitely enjoying the moment here, enjoying every moment I take the mound. It’s special, and not everybody gets to do it. Not everybody gets to do it as long as I have. I’m grateful for that.”
Wheeler loves playing in Philadelphia, despite the immense pressure
During the previous season with the Phillies, Wheeler boasted a 13-6 record, maintained a 3.61 ERA, and tallied an impressive 212 strikeouts. Reflecting on his initial contract inked with Philadelphia in 2019, a five-year deal valued at $118 million, his performance has been remarkable, notching a 43-25 record with a 3.06 ERA across 101 starts. This ERA stands as the most superior in that timeframe, surpassing notable pitchers like Corbin Burnes, Max Scherzer, and Shane Bieber, as reported by Zolecki.
“I love those big moments,” Wheeler said. “I don’t know, I really just enjoy being here in Philly. The fans are the best. Playing in Citizens Bank in October, there’s nothing like it.”
“There’s definitely pressure, especially being in Philadelphia,” Wheeler continued. “It’s a tough place to play. … You’re going to have your ups and downs. You’ll have your bad games, bad innings. You might get booed here and there. Booed off the field, but it’s part of the game. You take that in and use that as motivation and just try to build off of that because you don’t want that to happen again. There is pressure to live up to the contract. But if you take care of what you need to, hopefully it will take care of itself on the field.”
Phillies Dombrowski with high praise for Wheeler
Dombrowski praised Wheeler as “one of the premier pitchers in baseball,” highlighting the historic nature of the contract extension, which boasts the highest average annual value in MLB history at $42 million.
“We’ve established that he’s among the elite pitchers in the league,” Dombrowski commented. “Whether he’s ranked first, second, or third is immaterial. What matters is that he’s one of the best. Moreover, he’s proven himself as a top performer in high-pressure situations, making him invaluable in postseason play. When it comes to clutch moments, there’s no one I’d rather see on the mound than Zack.”
With Wheeler now secured for the foreseeable future, the Phillies harbor aspirations of clinching a championship, aiming to rebound from their NLCS defeat to the Arizona Diamondbacks last season. Their impressive 90-72 record placed them second in the NL East, trailing the Atlanta Braves and leading the Miami Marlins.