The Philadelphia Phillies are only a month away from Spring Training, and lots of attention has been on the moves — or total lack of moves — the team has made so far this offseason. With plenty of top-tier free agents still on the market, will the Phillies finally make a splash in the next few weeks?
It's not like the Phillies have been totally stingy with their money during this long Hot Stove season. In November, the team re-signed Aaron Nola to a seven-year, $172 million contract. The Phillies also extended manager Rob Thomson through the 2025 season during the MLB Winter Meetings in December.
While we continue to wait and see if the Phillies make any free agent moves this offseason, Zack Wheeler contract extension talk has returned thanks to some recent comments by a well-known baseball insider.
Ken Rosenthal believes the Phillies will extend Zack Wheeler in Spring Training
Appearing as a recent guest on the Foul Territory podcast, baseball insider Ken Rosenthal was asked by podcast co-host and former major league catcher Eric Kratz if the Phillies and Atlanta Braves would be willing to trade starting pitchers Zack Wheeler and Max Fried to make room for a free agent signing like a Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell.
"I don't see it," responded Rosenthal. "The Phillies want to extend Wheeler, he's been a success in Philadelphia, not every pitcher, not every player can suceed in Philly. So that is something that they clearly are signaling and I expect that to get done in Spring Training."
"I expect that to get done in Spring Training"@Ken_Rosenthal says the @Phillies are unlikely to trade Zack Wheeler because they're trying to sign him to a contract extension
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 15, 2024
▶️ https://t.co/NEU4ma6KCL pic.twitter.com/1XOj1WgODU
This is not the first time during this offseason that a Zack Wheeler extension has been floated as a possibility. Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reported in November that the two sides have had discussions, but at the time, nothing was considered close between the team and the player.
MLB Network recently ranked Wheeler as the sixth-best starting pitcher in all of Major League Baseball. The righty went 13-6, with a 3.61 ERA and 1.08 WHIP over 32 starts in 2023.
With multiple reports now circulating a few months apart, it would be surprising if a Wheeler extension doesn't get done at some point before Opening Day.