The Philadelphia Phillies' ace starting pitcher Wheeler is expected to miss Opening Day.

The Philadelphia Phillies expect their ace starting pitcher Zack Wheeler will not be prepared for Opening Day.

Considering that the ace is still recuperating from thoracic outlet decompression surgery on September 23, this outcome is not unexpected. However, manager Rob Thomson gave a near confirmation of this situation today.

"He’s recovering well, but I don’t think he’ll make it to Opening Day," Thomson said, "though it won’t be too long after that either."

The timeline for Wheeler to be fully recovered before Opening Day remains very tight. The Phillies have stated that the expected recovery period is six to eight months from the date of surgery.

This places the recovery window between late March and late May.

Thomson noted that Wheeler threw bullpen sessions last weekend with "very smooth" results. The Phillies still hope his return will be closer to the earlier part of that timeframe rather than the later part.

Obviously, the team will not rush the 35-year-old Wheeler back; he has been the Opening Day starter for the past two seasons.

In Wheeler’s absence, last season’s runner-up for the National League Cy Young Award, Cristopher Sánchez, is the most likely candidate to start on Opening Day. The Phillies will face the Texas Rangers at home in Citizens Bank Park on March 26.

Besides Sánchez, the Phillies’ starting rotation is expected to include Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker, and top pitching prospect Andrew Painter.

The Phillies had hoped Painter would make his MLB debut last season, but the 22-year-old struggled to regain control of his fastball throughout the year. Returning from Tommy John surgery which caused him to miss both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Painter started 26 games combined at Triple-A Lehigh Valley (22 starts) and Single-A Clearwater (4 starts), finishing with an ERA of 5.26.

"I think the past few years have been draining for him, not just physically but emotionally, because he’s eager to pitch," Thomson said. "He wants to compete and perform. So I believe coming into this spring training without any rehab concerns will help clear his mind."

Once healthy, the Phillies hope to see the Wheeler they have relied on in previous seasons. As a key contributor to the team’s success over the past several years, Wheeler has compiled a 69-37 record with a 2.91 ERA across six seasons with Philadelphia. During that time, he has struck out 1,094 batters in 979 innings and posted a 2.18 ERA in 12 postseason appearances.

Although the emergence of Sánchez and Luzardo last season provided some flexibility, the Phillies understand that having a fully healthy Wheeler — who earned Cy Young votes in five of his six seasons with the team — is their best assurance of winning the elusive World Series title.

Meanwhile, Painter holds a favorable position in the competition for the final starting rotation spot, with no clear challengers at this point. Baseball operations president Dave Dombrowski emphasized that adding depth to the starting rotation remains a priority for the team in the coming days.

Similarly, handling the trade of outfielder Nick Castellanos is on the agenda, with Dombrowski stating the team still hopes to complete the deal before spring training begins later this week. He remained noncommittal on whether Castellanos would report to spring camp if the trade does not happen by then.