Zack Wheeler ‘making progress’ in injury rehab; Phillies interested in Harrison Bader reunion

LAS VEGAS — Zack Wheeler remains on track in his rehab from thoracic outlet decompression surgery, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said at the general managers meetings on Wednesday.

The Phillies pitcher has not yet picked up a baseball, but he has been working out. Dombrowski said Wheeler is “not far away from throwing.”

“He’s actually making progress,” Dombrowski said. “In fact, I think he was jogging [Wednesday] some. And we haven’t rushed him at all.”

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Wheeler underwent his surgery on Sept. 23. Once he is ready to return, estimated to be between the end of spring training and the end of May, Dombrowski doesn’t anticipate holding him back, unless advised by the medical staff.

“If somebody says you’re better off to wait, we’ll wait. If they say, ‘Hey, he’s ready to go,’ then you’re not going to hold him back,” he said.

With Wheeler expected to return to form, Dombrowski said the starting pitching free agent market is not the Phillies’ “highest priority” this offseason. But that doesn’t mean the door is closed, as their depth beyond prospects Andrew Painter and Jean Cabrera is thin.

Last season, starting pitching wasn’t a priority, either, but the Phillies acquired Jesús Luzardo from the Marlins anyway.

“You always need starting pitching depth,” Dombrowski said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean top of the market, but where does that fit in? Because you never have enough starting pitching. … That’s something we’re going to be cognizant of.”

Ranger Suárez is one of the top lefties on the market this winter. Scott Boras, who represents Suárez, held a news conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday. He placed Suárez in conversation with his other top pitching clients in this class, Dylan Cease and Zac Gallen.

“True four-pitch command. He’s really what you call the Zone Ranger,” Boras said. “There’s no doubt that anyone who looks at the playoffs, look at the last three or four years, Suárez’s playoff quality, as a matter of fact, he’s the Lone Ranger. So if you’re interested in acquiring a postseason pitcher that has proven himself, I suggest you don’t want to miss the Suárez postseason soiree.”

When Harrison Bader declined his end of his $10 million mutual option with the Phillies for 2026, it came as no surprise.

That’s because it’s rare for mutual options to be exercised by both the player and club. This season, 18 players across MLB had mutual options and all were declined.

Add in the fact that Bader was coming off a career season — his OPS+ of 117 was his highest ever — and it was logical that he would use that leverage on the open market for a multiyear deal. But that doesn’t mean a reunion is off the table, and according to Dombrowski, the Phillies have made their interest in Bader clear.

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“They know we’d like to bring him back,” Dombrowski said Wednesday. “They also had expressed that they want to see what’s out there, because this was the best year he’s had, I think, in quite a while.”

There aren’t many other right-handed hitting outfielders on the free-agent market, which could also drive Bader’s price up.

“Did he like it [in Philadelphia]? I think, yes, he did,” Dombrowski said. “Think he liked being there, part of the situation, good for him. But free-agent dollars can speak.”

The Phillies have been in the market for a right-handed hitting outfielder for the past several offseasons and trade deadlines, but have yet to find a permanent solution.

With signs pointing toward the Phillies parting ways with right-handed hitter Nick Castellanos and lefty Justin Crawford poised to make a major league impact next season, unless a move is made, the outfield figures to only get more left-handed in 2026.

“Ideally, we need a little more help from the right side than we would the left,” Dombrowski said.

The Phillies’ 2025 first-round pick, right-hander Gage Wood, will come to camp as a starter, but he will likely be on an innings limit next season. Wood missed some time in 2025 with the Arkansas Razorbacks with a shoulder injury, though he finished the season healthy, capping it off with a no-hitter in the College World Series.

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“We haven’t sat down yet and calculated, but I’m sure there’ll be some inning limitations because he didn’t throw very much last year,” Dombrowski said. “But we haven’t had those discussions yet.”

The Phillies’ No. 8 prospect, right-hander Moisés Chace, is still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery he underwent in June, Dombrowski said.

José Alvarado ended his season on the injured list with a strained left forearm, but Dombrowski said he has recovered and will be ready for camp. Crawford has also recovered from the concussion he suffered in September.

Cristopher Sánchez finished runner-up in National League Cy Young voting to the unanimous winner, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes. Sánchez received all 30 second-place votes, marking the first time since the Cy Young went to a five-player ballot format in 2010 that the first- and second-place choices have been unanimous.

The Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto finished in third place.

The Cy Young Award is voted on by the Baseball Writers Association at the conclusion of the regular season.

Sánchez became the second straight Phillies pitcher to finish second for the award, after Wheeler was runner-up to Atlanta’s Chris Sale in 2024.

Other Phillies pitchers to receive votes were Luzardo, who garnered one fourth-place and three fifth-place selections, and Wheeler, who received one fifth-place vote.