PHILADELPHIA — A little more than two hours after interim manager Rob Thomson announced that Bryce Harper will rejoin the team Friday, the Phillies placed ace Zack Wheeler on the 15-day injured list due to tendinitis in his right forearm.
Wheeler had been scheduled to start Friday night against the Pirates. Left-hander Bailey Falter will start instead.
How serious is Wheeler’s injury? It is a critical question. The Phillies cannot afford to lose their ace for an extended time. They are only 40 games away from potentially clinching their first postseason berth in more than a decade. They need him healthy, especially in the postseason.
“He felt, by all means, he could take the ball tomorrow and go out there and pitch,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “But when we talked about it, we also felt that we would much rather knock this thing out and not have him go out there and have him continue to deal with this the rest of the season. So, for us, when we sat in the office today, it was more, well, you know, ‘I can do it.’ But we just think sometimes you have to take it out of the person’s hands. We just think it’s best to shut this down right now.
“I still think there’s a long time to go and I’d rather have Zack Wheeler knock this out … and be in a position where he’s as close to 100 percent as can be at this time of year.”
Dombrowski said he believes Wheeler will miss only his next two scheduled starts. He said Wheeler could start Sept. 6 against the Marlins, when he is eligible to be activated from the IL. (The IL stint is retroactive to Monday.)
Wheeler is 11-7 with a 3.07 ERA in 23 starts this season. He was 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA in his last two, allowing 10 runs on 14 hits and five walks in 11 1/3 innings.
Wheeler said he felt fine after each start.
“I can’t say that it has anything to do with the last two outings,” Dombrowski said. “You get to this time of year with about any player or pitcher, and there is something that’s not 100 percent. I’ve dealt with Zack for a couple years. And just like a lot of guys, he’s dealt with some of these same issues last year. It’s one of those things that pitchers deal with. That’s how I would describe this. He’s been dealing with this as has probably every pitcher on our staff. It’s been one of those over the last little time period that it’s maybe bothered him a little more.”
Wheeler’s four-seam fastball has averaged 95.9 mph this season, down from 97.2 mph last year.
Dombrowski said no MRI exam is scheduled because the Phillies believe they have a handle on the situation.
“He’s just a little tender in an area,” Dombrowski said. “These guys are treated for these things all the time. He might have been treated for this all year long for all I know. All last year, too. It’s not one of these things that just — boom — it cropped up out of the blue. It’s been there, just like it has been with a lot of guys. Maybe it’s a little more now.
“He’s not happy. I think he’d rather [have] taken the ball. But he also understands it’s probably the wise thing to do.”