It was announced on Saturday that Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler had been placed on the 15-day injured list after a blood clot was found in his upper extremity near his right shoulder . Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced the roster move and said that more testing would be done before any timeline is established (subscription required), per Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic.
The scare on Friday of possibly losing closer Jhoan Duran to injury was bad, but the club losing their ace instead isn't much better. The loss of Wheeler is massively disappointing, but it does give Cristopher Sánchez a chance to step up in his absence and lead this rotation to success. Sánchez may not have been given the attention of a frontline ace, but he has sure played like one.
Cristopher Sánchez has become the ace of the rotation after Zack Wheeler hits the IL
Sánchez has been nothing short of phenomenal this season. In 24 starts this year, he's pitched to an 11-4 record, 2.45 ERA, 1.088 WHIP and has racked up 157 strikeouts in 150 2/3 innings pitched. According to FanGraphs, he's also sporting a 4.3 fWAR, which currently ranks second in the NL, behind only Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes. Whether the Phillies were ready to lean on Sánchez to carry this rotation or not, he's clearly the guy to trust going forward out of anyone.
Sánchez was an All-Star and finished 10th in the NL Cy Young Award voting last season. He's grown into a star for the Phillies' rotation, and he's carried that play right into 2025. The Phillies do have Aaron Nola making a timely return on Sunday, but his 6.16 ERA over nine starts limits the expectation with him taking the mound for the first time since May. Jesús Luzardo and Ranger Suárez have been good, but have fallen victim to some poor play as of late.
Wheeler is currently at a 2.71 ERA and 195 strikeouts over 149 2/3 innings pitched. Wheeler was among the favorites to win the NL Cy Young Award again this season, but Sánchez isn't very far behind. He may be the stiffest competition for Skenes down the stretch before the NL Cy Young race is all said and done. Per Fox Sports, the odds are looking favorable for Sánchez.
Of all the things that Sánchez has been this year with his jump in strikeout rate and consistently going deep into ball games, he's turned into an ace of his own. The Phillies losing Wheeler hurts their chances in the final weeks of the season, but not every club has a backup ace like Sánchez ready to be deployed in the rotation.