May 23, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) walks back towards the dugout after the fourth inning against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images Dennis Lee
When Zack Wheeler initially signed with the Phillies in December of 2019, he wasn't yet a father. By the time he makes his next start, he and his wife, Dominique, expect to have welcomed their fourth child together.
Because of that, Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia says that Wheeler will no longer make his scheduled start on Tuesday in Toronto. Instead, Cristopher Sánchez will pitch the series opener, Mick Abel will go Wednesday and Jesús Luzardo will pitch the finale in The 6 on Thursday.
Not having Wheeler — arguably the best pitcher in baseball — available against the Blue Jays is suboptimal when the Phillies will enter the series trying to snap a four-game losing streak, but obviously the birth of his child is more important. Also, Sánchez, Abel and Luzardo is still a pretty good trio of arms to go against Toronto, who will enter the series with a 31-28 record.
Seidman noted in his story that the rotation order for this weekend's series in Pittsburgh is yet to be determined, likely because the Phillies need to see when Wheeler will be available to make his next start.
The good news for the Phillies is that they do expect to have Bryce Harper (right elbow) back in the lineup Tuesday for the first time in a week.
All signs point towards Bryce Harper returning to the lineup for the #Phillies on Tuesday.
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[image or embed]— Tim Kelly (@timkellysports.bsky.social) June 1, 2025 at 7:56 PM
