The one thing that the Philadelphia Phillies couldn’t afford during the 2025 season was the loss of their ace Zack Wheeler. Wheeler underwent season-ending thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in September, putting a massive damper on the club’s playoff prospects.

While his season was done early, at least now Wheeler’s timeline to come back in 2026 and lead the rotation once again appears to be clearer after the Phillies’ year-end press conference on Thursday.

The initial timeline given in the summer was 6-8 months, but it was unclear if that was just the recovery time Wheeler would need to begin ramping up to baseball activities and getting back to MLB competition. After the clarification on Wheeler’s upcoming rehab, the outlook is much more positive.

Phillies clarify Zack Wheeler’s 6-8 month timeframe to return to MLB action

During his hour-long press conference, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was asked about Wheeler’s status and the team’s approach to him being in the rotation next season.

“Zack, starting next week, will come in [for] his rehab program,” Dombrowski said. “Everything has gone well with the surgery, he feels fine, he feels like he should be.”

While the positive update is good news, Dombrowski went on to provide an actual concrete timeframe for when we can see Wheeler back on the mound at Citizens Bank Park.

“Nothing’s changed in regards that they feel it will be six to eight months that he can be back pitching for us,” Dombrowski added. “That’s in a game at the major league level during the regular season, so that takes you from the end of spring training to the end of May. That’s what our timeframe is with him at this point.”

Phillies fans had hoped Wheeler would be himself again in 2026 but still assumed he would miss some of the year with recovery. With him now most likely pitching in an MLB game by the end of May, Wheeler can settle in early enough to still churn out another vintage season fans have come to expect.

Wheeler was on another Cy Young course before he got hurt in 2025. He made 24 starts, pitched to a 2.71 ERA and ended up with 195 strikeouts in 149 2/3 innings. Even with two months worth of starts missed due to a blood clot in his shoulder and then the surgery, he still finished with the ninth-most strikeouts in the National League. It was a complicated injury that was more severe than initially anticipated.

This year was the first season of Wheeler’s three-year, $126 million deal. He’s the highest-paid pitcher in the sport, and he plays like it every season. The Phillies need Wheeler back and just hope that he’s capable of putting this behind him. Wheeler will be 36 next year, so there’s no time to waste making the most of Wheeler while he’s still a Cy Young candidate.