Zack Wheeler’s First Bullpen in Clearwater Sets the Tone for the Phillies’ 2026 Pitching Plan

Zack Wheeler was on the mound in Clearwater on Thursday, throwing his first bullpen of spring. He threw 21 pitches at 80-85%; the Phillies said he looked good, and they are shooting for his second bullpen to be on Sunday. That would be a normal build-up with two days off between sessions.

“I felt good, I felt smooth, natural,” Wheeler said on Friday.

A first bullpen is where rehab starts to feel real again, where the conversation shifts from holding your breath to how the ball comes out of your hand and whether your body lets you repeat your motion without thinking, and, more importantly, without pain.

Wheeler has earned the benefit of the doubt because he always goes above and beyond with the work needed, significantly because he isn’t the type of leader who needs a microphone to make a point. But this return isn’t the run-of-the-mill rehab; this will require patience, because thoracic outlet surgery is not a run-of-the-mill surgery. The Phillies already know Wheeler will not be ready by Opening Day, which means spring for him is not about being sharp in a spring training game. His March will be about building his foundation and strength so that when he’s ready, and the games start to matter, he can slide back in as the ace of the Phillies staff.

The assignment here is not throwing one good bullpen; it’s getting through the session in front of him and then stretching his number of throws. Ultimately, leading up to live batting practice, simulated innings, then adding to the workload until he’s doing it when the games count toward his real record, and he’s back in the rotation.

Wheeler has always been a stoic pitcher, keeping his emotions in check, and that is why his value to the Phillies goes beyond the games when he gives you seven innings and the game feels over by the fourth. He is the anchor in a staff that has leaned on stability for years, and he sets a tone that is hard to quantify unless you are in that dugout watching how other pitchers watch him, because younger arms don’t just copy mechanical cues, they copy routines and emotional posture and what it looks like to handle a bad inning without turning it into a bad outing.

With Ranger Suarez going to the Red Sox, there is a real hole at the top of the rotation, on top of the time it will take Wheeler to get back to game shape. This will require the Phils’ starters to pick up their teammate, and when Wheeler returns to form, hopefully looking like the ace we all know him to be, it will return the Phillies staff to one of the top in the league. A healthy Wheeler, sitting on top of Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo, is the kind of 1-2-3 punch that changes how you plan series, how you manage the bullpen, and how often you have to chase games with your offense.

Sanchez has already shown he can live in the ace role without flinching, and Luzardo has the kind of stuff that plays in May as well as it does in October, so the Phils will be ok even if Aaron Nola can’t make a return to peak form. If Wheeler is himself, you are not asking Sanchez and Luzardo to be Superman and hold down the rotation for a large chunk of the season, you are asking them to be exactly what they’ve already shown they are, which is the difference between a rotation that looks good on paper and one that actually survives the dog days of summer with the team at least in the hunt for the playoffs.

And then there is Andrew Painter, who is the most exciting question mark on the staff. The upside is real, and we’ve been patiently waiting to see him in a Philadelphia Phillies uniform. But, the biggest question, as it is for the overwhelming majority of rookies, is how well he can navigate the workload, timing, and how his stuff translates to major league hitters. These are still major unknowns, and while we have high expectations for Painter, based on his previous successes, it’s still a mystery until he gets his first start of the season. Painter has his first start of the spring on Sunday in Clearwater against the New York Yankees.

This is why Wheeler’s return changes the tone of the spring even before he throws a single meaningful inning. When you know the ace is coming, there is no feeling of panic, and this will give Rob Thomson more rope to allow Nola and Painter to get into a groove.

So yes, it is a bullpen, and yes, it is early, and yes, it is February. But it is also the first step towards the version of the Phillies where the rotation is led by a guy that is about as close to automatic as there is in baseball. The version where no matter what, we know that we will see at least 3 quality starts a week.

We’re not even in March yet, and recovering from a life-threatening incident like thoracic outlet decompression surgery is a tall order, but Wheeler has never been a player who minces words, and he said Friday, “I didn’t know what I was going to feel like yesterday, but it felt good, smooth, natural.”

If he can say that after his first 21 pitches off the mound, we can breathe a little easier with Thomson saying on Friday that he will start his six-week specialized throwing protocol.

“If I’m ready to go, I’m ready to go,” Wheeler said. “I don’t think I have any problem when October comes, usually. So, I don’t think this year is different than any other year, trying to preserve.”

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