As first reported by Marc Carig of The Athletic, the Philadelphia Phillies snagged Zack Wheeler off the free agent market on a multi-year deal.
The Phillies have reached an agreement with Zack Wheeler, sources tell @TheAthletic. The ex-Met stays in the NL East, and close to New Jersey, where Wheeler’s wife is from.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) December 4, 2019
Shortly after the news broke, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic emerged with the official numbers on Wheeler’s new contract with the Phillies.
Wheeler, 29, was considered to be at the top of the winter’s second-tier of free agent pitchers, sitting behind only Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg. He’s coming off back-to-back strong seasons with the New York Mets after bouncing back from Tommy John surgery, which temporarily shelved his career back in 2015.
Wheeler has made a combined 60 starts over the last two seasons, going 23-15 with a 3.74 ERA. Wheeler’s 2019 season saw him rack up just 11 wins and finish with a lofty 3.94 ERA, but he also struck out 195 batters in 195.1 innings. Much of Wheeler’s strikeout prowess comes from his lively fastball, which he used to strikeout 22.3 percent of batters he faced in…
Read “Zack Wheeler, Phillies Strike Five-Year, $118 Million Deal” at Baseball Essential
