Zack Wheeler injury update: What happened to the Phillies' ace? Blood clot forces IL stint

Philadelphia Phillies' Zack Wheeler, who is on the 15-day injured list, has been one of the most dominant National League pitchers this season.

Updated on: Aug 17, 2025, 05:41:34 IST

By Shuvrajit Das Biswas

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Philadelphia Phillies suffered not just one, but two losses in the game against Washington Nationals on Saturday. They went down 2-0 and lost right-hander Zack Wheeler to injury.

Zack Wheeler got injured in the game where Washington Nationals beat Philadelphia Phillies 2-0. (Getty Images via AFP)

Wheeler, who has been one of the most dominant National League pitchers this season, is now on the 15-day injury list with a ‘Right Upper Extremity Blood Clot’.

What is Right Upper Extremity Blood Clot?

A deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is said to occur when a blood clot gets formed in a vein deep inside the body. These clots form when blood thickens and clumps together, Healthline noted.

Upper extremity blood clots (UEDVT) can appear in one's neck or arms, and then travel to their lungs, the publication noted. There is also the chance of a pulmonary embolism (PE) in such cases.

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Further, Healthline noted that 10 percent of all DVTs occur in the upper extremity. The symptoms of UEDVT include shoulder pain, neck pain, bluish skin color, swelling on one's arm or hand, weakness in the hand, and pain traveling to the arm or forearm.

UEDVT can be caused due to several factors, among which is physical strain, with Healthline noting activities like rowing or pitching a baseball, in particular, can damage the inside coating of a blood vessel and lead to a clot. This is called a spontaneous UEDVT and is usually rare, as per the health publication.

Wheeler has been setting the league ablaze in the meantime, and leads in several stats, including, WHIP (0.94), strikeout rate (33.3%), strikeouts (195), xFIP (2.50), strikeout-to-walk rate (27.7%), and xERA (2.44). Now, in his 11th season in the major league, the Phillies' star has led all pitchers in fWAR (28.6) as well as innings pitched (979.0).

Now, Wheeler will undergo further testing to determine his condition, once the team gets back home.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shuvrajit Das Biswas
Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing. However, the newsroom beckoned and over the last few jobs, Shuvrajit has exceedingly focused on team functioning as well, including tracking news and assigning tasks, working on everyday breaking news, framing detailed coverage plans, and creating immersive and data-driven stories. In his time as a digital journalist, he has covered a Lok Sabha election, multiple state elections, Union Budgets and award ceremonies. He has also helped in planning content for company event panels in the past. For work, Shuvrajit enjoys dabbling with data visualization, editing tools, and AI chatbots and attempts to incorporate AI workflows in everyday tasks. He is deeply interested in geopolitics, sports, films and music. Prompting is a new fascination for Shuvrajit now. Apart from that, he can be found doom-scrolling, sharing memes, or cheering on his favorite football team.Read More

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