The Philadelphia Phillies are rallying around starting pitcher Zack Wheeler, who is reeling from a disturbing and rare medical diagnosis.

Wheeler is dealing with a ‘blood clot in his right upper arm,’ which may cause him to be away from the team for an extended period as he requires immediate medical care.

The medical team for the Phillies intends to conduct additional tests on Wheeler within the upcoming days. Should the condition necessitate more intensive treatment, he might be moved to the 60-day injury list, resulting in a much longer absence.

‘We’re limited in what we can say at the moment,’ commented Phillies GM Dave Dombrowski, ‘but I praise [head athletic trainer Paul Buchheit] and the medical staff for detecting this, as it might have escalated into a much more difficult scenario.’

Buchheit confirmed that the clot is located in Wheeler’s throwing shoulder.

The pitcher experienced shoulder soreness in August, leading to a delayed start, although he managed to make two appearances as scheduled afterward. He observed a dip in his pitching speed, only getting through five innings in his last Friday game against Washington.

The Phillies are rallying around Zach Wheeler, who discovered a blood clot in his shoulder

Wheeler, a father of four, has been a superstar since moving to Philadelphia in 2019

‘Zack felt improvement after dealing with his shoulder soreness, but yesterday, he noticed some different symptoms,’ explained Buchheit. ‘He experienced a slight heaviness. The medical team was outstanding in diagnosing and swiftly addressing this issue this morning.’

No final diagnosis has been made yet, and the doctors do not suspect the blood clot caused his earlier shoulder soreness, but he has been placed on the 15-day injury list initially.

The 15-day IL designation does not mean Wheeler – a father of four – will necessarily be back in 15 days, and he will continue to receive urgent treatment as the team decides their next move.

A blood clot is a rare diagnosis for a healthy, fit man with no underlying illness or previous issues.

It has been reported that a clot can be caused by a repetitive arm motion – something that Wheeler, as a professional baseball player, does every day during the season. 

Some of the symptoms of the clot include swelling and severe pain in the area, and his Phillies teammates, understandably, have reacted with much concern and a number of them have spoken out about their friend and colleague.

Fellow starter Taijuan Walker said, ‘It’s obviously scary. … Obviously, we’re praying for him, trying to keep in contact with him. But I know that he knows we’re all here for him.’ 

‘I shot him a text,’ said star slugger and NL MVP front-runner Kyle Schwarber. ‘Sounded like everything was getting the tests done and things like that. It’s a scary situation, right? … Just want to get him back in here and hear from him. 

‘Hopefully, it’s not anything too serious. I don’t know what the prognosis is going to be or what they’re going to have to do. I don’t know if it’s surgery. 

‘I don’t think anyone knows right now. … But get him in here and get him healthy. I think that’s the biggest thing.

‘Baseball is baseball. When it comes to someone’s health like that, we need him healthy first. He’s got a family, so we want to get him feeling good for them and get him back to speed whenever we can.’

Teammates Kyle Schwarber (L) and Taijuan Walker (R) have sent him messages of support

It also throws a wrench in the plans of manager Rob Thomson to run a six-man starting rotation. But that’s not the main thing on his mind at the moment.

‘We don’t know the timeline,’ Thomson said. ‘I’m thinking a lot about Zack and his family because it’s not a hamstring injury or something like that. But I feel good about the depth that we have. If we have to go to a (six-man rotation), it could be (Andrew) Painter, it could be somebody else. We’ve just got to carry on. People have to step up.’ 

Wheeler signed with Philadelphia in December 2019 and has been a star for them ever since.

He’s posted a record of 69-37 and averaged a 2.91 ERA in his time in the City of Brotherly Love.

So far this season, he has an ERA of 2.71 and a record of 10-5.