The Major League Baseball Winter Meetings can be a key time on the calendar for many organizations. After all, many of the game’s biggest signings and deals usually take place around that time, as we witnessed with the Shohei Ohtani signing last year just shortly after the 2023 event and now the Juan Soto signing on the eve of the 2024 event.
The Philadelphia Phillies had one of their biggest signings in recent years at the Winter Meetings, just that no one may have realized it at the time. Back on Dec. 9, 2019, with the Phillies looking to bolster their starting rotation to join forces with Aaron Nola, they landed a pitcher from their hated division rival the New York Mets on the first day of the Winter Meetings. That pitcher turned out to be none other than Zack Wheeler.
Phillies History: Zack Wheeler signed at the 2019 Winter Meetings before he became an ace
At the time, Wheeler was coming off five solid, but not exceptional, seasons with the Mets. During his tenure with New York, he posted a 44-38 record with a 3.77 ERA and 1.29 WHIP, with 270 walks and 726 strikeouts in 749 1/3 innings pitched over 126 starts. Those numbers seemed decent enough, but for a former high first-round pick and no personal accolades achieved during that time frame, they were certainly expecting a lot more out of the promising right-hander.
With the Mets not looking to re-sign Wheeler as a result of his price tag increasing during the 2019-20 offseason, the Phillies swooped in and gave him a huge five-year, $118 million contract to steal him away from their rivals. However, many critics did not see it as a franchise-changing move at the time. They had their doubts about what Wheeler could actually bring to the club.
In fact, former MLB executive David Samson gave his two cents on the CBS Sports HQ show, stating that Wheeler wasn’t going to be a No. 1 guy and that he would end up just being a No. 3 or No. 4 starter. To give that much money and for that long of a deal, Samson believed that it wasn’t going to be worth it, especially when it wouldn't likely make the Phillies get any closer to catching the juggernauts in the NL East.
2019: The Phillies sign Zack Wheeler at the Winter Meetings and David Samson is critical of the contract.
— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) December 8, 2024
“He’s only going to end being a #3 or #4 starter. This does not make the Phillies closer to the Nats [in the NL East].” pic.twitter.com/DgGMWpgylf
Well, fast forward now five years later, where would the Phillies be without Wheeler? All he has done for Philadelphia is pitch like a Cy Young winner throughout his current tenure with the club. In his five seasons, he has compiled a stellar 59-32 record with a 2.94 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, with a whopping 899 strikeouts in 829 1/3 innings pitched over 133 starts.
With such a dominant yet consistent performance, Wheeler became an All-Star twice, while finishing runner-up to the NL Cy Young Award twice as well, including just this past year. On top of that, he has even taken home a Gold Glove Award for good measure, showing that he can get it done in the field as well. More importantly, Wheeler played a significant role in helping the Phillies reach the MLB playoffs in each of the past three seasons.
So Samson was right that Wheeler wasn’t worth the initial contract amount that he was given. Now, based on his accomplishments, he was definitely worth way, way more. As for his claim that Wheeler would be at best a No. 3/4 starter? Wheeler sure silenced his critics in a big way while making the Mets severely regret their decision at the same time.
The Phillies were wise to reach an agreement with Wheeler earlier this year on a three-year extension worth $126 million, as they will look to him to continue carrying the team to more success in the coming years. Hopefully, the Phillies can come close to something like that this year again at the Winter Meetings.