The rise and rise of Zack Wheeler

Zack Wheeler has quietly been working his way up in the world. Already a top-tier starter in the MLB, he was traded by the Mets to the Phillies four years ago.

At the time, the Phillies considered him something of a footnote, only announcing the move in a joint press conference with Didi Gregorious. His Mets rotation mates at the time seemed to burn brighter. Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard were at the top of the firmament, while Wheeler seemed to fly under the radar.

Now, the Philadelphia Phillies have signed Zack Wheeler to the biggest contract extension in the history of baseball. It won’t kick in until next season, but the three-year, $126 million deal will represent $42 million per year for Wheeler. That is the highest average annual value of any pitcher ever. And Wheeler deserves every penny of it.

Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies president of baseball operations said, “To us, Zack is one of the best pitchers in the game of baseball. I don’t think I could think of another individual I would want in a big game. It’s a happy day for us.”

Wheeler has found that ingredient X in the intervening years with Philadelphia. Durability, consistency, and a dominant four-seamer.

In his first two seasons with the Phillies, he managed to collect Cy Young votes. It seems inevitable that he will be in the conversation again. Especially now that Philadelphia has managed to turn the corner and become perennial contenders.

The draw of the north east for the Georgia native is strong. He said that he wants to be near his New Jersey wife’s family. When he got to Philadelphia four years ago, he indicated to the press that he wanted to be in Philadelphia for the rest of his career.

“You know, I took less to come here and be in a good spot and be happy and have my family be happy.”

Reportedly, Zack Wheeler pushed for a short extension with a high AAV, indicating that the 33 year old is not interested in pitching into his forties. He is interested in making all the money that he can right now that he is an elite pitcher and when he is not elite any more, he will walk away.

That is not to say that he isn’t committed to being the best he can right now. Far from it. He has a great relationship with JT Realmuto and pitching coach Caleb Cotham and is incredibly focused on physical training, pushing his body to be ready for long starts, deep-inning games, and a 200 inning season.

As long as the Phillies are happy with Wheeler, and they are very happy right now, then he will give everything to them. He and his family are very happy in Philadelphia, and that looks like it will be the case for a very long time to come.