The Phillies’ Zack Wheeler was given one of his ribs after surgery. Now he’s working to ‘do my thing’ once again.
His doctor hand-delivered the rib he removed during Wheeler’s surgery for a blood clot in September. “It was pretty gross,” said the Phillies ace, who is not looking too far ahead in his return.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Inside a closet at Zack Wheeler’s house, preserved and tucked inside a protective case, is one of his ribs.
The Phillies pitcher’s first rib was removed as part of the surgery he underwent in September to treat venous thoracic outlet syndrome. The rib is taken out to relieve compression of the subclavian vein.
It’s common for patients who undergo that type of surgery to receive their rib afterward, though it can be weeks or months later. But Wheeler’s doctor hand-delivered his.
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“He was like, ‘I wanted to give it to you personally,’” Wheeler said from his typical corner locker at BayCare Ballpark. “So he just walked in and gave it to me in a bag. It was pretty gross.”
Wheeler, making his first public comments since his TOS diagnosis, had just finished a recovery day on Wednesday, on the first official day of Phillies camp for pitchers and catchers.
“It’s not something that you expect to happen in your life or your career,” Wheeler said. “You might expect to have a shoulder or elbow [injury] throughout your career. The blood clot thing is something that’s kind of rare and you don’t expect to have. So when you get told that, it’s just something you just have to sort of sit back and think about for a second.”
Wheeler had first experienced heaviness near his right shoulder following a start on Aug. 15 in Washington, and Nationals team doctors identified an upper extremity blood clot.
He underwent a thrombolysis procedure to remove the clot, and multiple specialists afterward diagnosed him with venous TOS, which ended his 2025 season.
“After the surgery, you battle the tightness and the soreness and stuff like that,” Wheeler said. “The first week was really tough after it, soreness-wise, obviously. … Now, I feel pretty much normal.”
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Wheeler spent the winter in Philadelphia, where he worked with Phillies trainer Paul Buchheit on getting back his range of motion and strength. Manager Rob Thomson said earlier this week that it is doubtful Wheeler will be ready for opening day on March 26, but that he shouldn’t be “too far beyond that.”
Wheeler has been encouraged by his progress, but he isn’t looking that far ahead. Instead, he’s focused on taking things day by day and checking off each box as it comes.
The next step is building up his arm strength. He is throwing at a maximum distance of 90 feet four times a week, which soon will be extended to 105 feet. Then, it’s flat-ground drills, which are the final step before Wheeler can get on a mound.
“I just kind of do what they tell me, ask what I got for the week, and kind of just go about it that way,” Wheeler said. “I try not to get my hopes up one way or the other, and that’s kind of how I’ve always been. Just take it as it comes and just do the work that I’m needing to be done that week.”
Throughout this process, Wheeler, 35, said he never considered the possibility that he might not pitch again.
“I think that any athlete, you have surgery, you’re optimistic about it,” he said. “You always had that good mindset where you come back and be the same performer as you were. So that’s kind of my mindset the whole time. I’m moving back to where I was, and I think that’s the right mindset to have.”
The next time he does step on the mound, he’s expecting to be the same Wheeler, even if he is one rib lighter.
“Hopefully,” Wheeler said, “I can get back out there and do my thing.”