PHILADELPHIA – A little more than three hours before the first pitch of Saturday night’s game against the Washington Nationals, the Philadelphia Phillies put out a press release confirming the worst-case scenario, from a baseball perspective, for the club this season. After undergoing a procedure to remove a blood clot on Monday, August 18, Zack Wheeler will require an additional surgery, leaving Philly without their ace for the remainder of the season and the playoffs.
About an hour after the news broke, I asked former Phillies pitcher and current broadcaster/advisor for the team, Cole Hamels, if he could talk about the update on Wheeler. He had just arrived and had not heard the latest, so we read through the press release together.
After reviewing and digesting the news, I asked Hamels one simple thing – what impact does a loss of this caliber, a loss of the ace of the staff, do to a locker room?
“It’s always tough to lose your sort of ‘guy’, your big guy that you want to count on. You know he’s going to pitch all those big meaningful games and kind of carry a team, but at the same time it’s a team game and you have 25 to 26 guys that you always have to rely on. So for right now, guys just have to realize, ‘hey, you know what, I’ve got to do a little bit more,’ and try to figure out how to utilize this situation to benefit everybody with coming together.”
During our discussion, the former Phillies great often echoed the sentiment that current Phillie, Trea Turner, told the media after Wheeler was placed on the injured list – it’s a clubhouse of veterans who all need to pick up the slack. “They didn’t get here just because of one guy,” Hamels stated. “Everybody helped win.”
Philadelphia has responded strong since the initial news of Wheeler’s blood clot broke and he was placed on the IL. Their offense put in a historic performance en route to a three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners earlier this week. The team has a 5-1 record since the initial announcement regarding the clot.
Cole would expand on how you can use adversity as a way to galvanize your team. “Winning teams know how to win, and these guys have won a lot over the last couple of years.” The World Series champion continued: “They are veterans, and it’s utilizing the leadership and the experience of being a veteran to rally behind something and make it positive and obviously with turning the situation into something that’s going to be better.”
Cole Hamels dives deeper on how the Phillies can pull together following Zack Wheeler’s injury
Hamels has extensive experience pitching in big moments across his major league career, having won World Series MVP back in 2008 as a member of the Phillies. He also pitched alongside some of the greatest arms of a generation during his time in Philadelphia. Cole was teammates with Hall of Famer and two-time Cy Young award winner, Roy Halladay, in Philly.
While he was there for the best and brightest moments, they also shared a locker room in 2012 and 2013 – a period where Halladay missed nearly a full season worth of action due to various injuries and ailments.
We discussed what those Phillies did when they were without the leader of their rotation – his experience providing a unique perspective into what this year’s team can do with Zack Wheeler not able to contribute on the field:
“He’s around, he’s got a wealth of knowledge and experience. So you can now lean on him – ‘hey, what would you do in this situation?’ – and still talk the game of baseball and get help, even though he’s not able to help you out on the field.” Hamels said, looking back on his own interactions and observations while Halladay was out.
He explained further how the 2025 club can lean on Zack: “He can still help you in the clubhouse and the dugout, and I think that’s what Wheeler can still do. When you have a guy at that caliber, any sort of advice or words of wisdom that provide confidence is almost more beneficial sometimes than actually watching him do what he does, you know, because now he can do it for 4 to 5 more guys. And if they can boost some self-esteem and just some better awareness on a situation, that will help with positive results. It can be a boost. It can be really beneficial.”
While Wheeler had been a perennial Cy Young candidate these past few seasons, his absence doesn’t change the fact that Philadelphia’s strength has been their starting rotation. Although it’s not easy to fill Zack’s shoes, a new starter has emerged inside the Phillies organization as a talent a head above the rest. This season, Cristopher Sánchez has cemented himself as an elite starting pitcher and is firmly in the discussion for the NL Cy Young Award.
Losing your No. 1 starter becomes an easier pill to swallow when you have a No. 1-B standing beside him. If you aren’t convinced on Sánchez, take it from a guy who was part of a rotation where he was one of four aces:
“The guys in this rotation are all pretty ace-quality pitchers. I mean, you have Sánchez that’s in the Cy Young (race), he’s an ace pitcher. He’s a No. 1. So now you just kind of move around a little bit, but at one point, Sanchez – he’s going to head a team, he’s going to head a rotation,” Hamels firmly stated, lauding the 28-year-old. “Maybe this is the moment now you kind of see what he can do, but I think he’s handling it very well and he pitches within himself. He knows he’s good.”
Hamels had praise for each member of the rotation. He noted that Luzardo seems to be back to his winning ways. We discussed how Aaron Nola has been in pressure situations before and can figure it out (which he did Saturday night). Our conversation about Taijuan Walker‘s role, the toughness he’s shown, and the success he’s had through all he’s been asked to do went on for some time. He continued to stress the veteran group and how they can put it together by leaning on Wheeler, each other, and their own experiences.
Cole reiterated more than once his feelings about everyone on the team “putting a little bit more weight on their shoulders to be accountable.” The rotation has done that already – In the last five games (one full turn through the rotation without Wheeler), the starters have a 3.00 ERA with 45 strikeouts to just six walks.
There will still be a balancing act for manager Rob Thomson. He intended to use a six-man rotation for a stretch in order to get his starters some extra rest before the postseason. That plan is no longer feasible. Despite that, Hamels feels strongly the Phillies can work through this, despite the challenge that losing their ace presents. “It’s all there. It’s just now putting it together.”
(Top Photo of Cole Hamels – Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images)
