The Philadelphia Phillies ace, Zack Wheeler will be a free-agent after this year. Zack Wheeler has proved to everyone that he can perform really good in Philadelphia. The Phillies signed Zack Wheeler to a five-year deal worth $118 million on December 9th, 2019. Fast forward to now, where Zack Wheeler has shown that he deserves another big contract. On Foul Territory, MLB reporter, Ken Rosenthal said that the Phillies want to sign Zack Wheeler before he is a free-agent, Rosenthal also said he believes a deal will get done in Spring Training.
Zack Wheeler is 33-years-old. Usually for a pitcher, a team would be hesitant to give out another big contract to, but the way pitchers have been showing they can pitch well into their late 30's, that's not quite the case anymore. When talking about what kind of contract Zack Wheeler could get with the Phillies is tough. The market for pitchers has gone up so much since Wheeler was a free-agent in 2019.
There's two ways the Phillies could go about extending Zack Wheeler. First, it would be a short term deal. Just a few years, and high AAV. That deal could be about a three-year deal, worth around $100 million. That would be an AAV of $33 million a year. At the end of that three-year deal, Zack Wheeler would be 36-years-old and be a free-agent again. This type of deal would be if the Phillies wouldn't want to go long term again with Zack Wheeler.
There is another option the Phillies could look into. That would be a long term deal. Which would be a higher amount of years and a good amount of money. The Phillies could base a long term deal for Zack Wheeler off of a contract they just gave one of their starting pitchers, Aaron Nola. This type of deal would be around a seven-year deal, worth $180 million. If the Phillies would decide to go long term with Zack Wheeler again, he would be about 40-years-old when this contract is over, which wouldn't be uncommon in today's MLB.
Zack Wheeler has proved everything and more to the Phillies. His stats don't lie. In four years with the Phillies, Zack Wheeler has appeared in 101 games, all as a starter. Wheeler has a 42-25 record, 3.06 ERA, and 675 strikeouts. Also, Zack Wheeler has started in many big games with the Phillies in the past two years, from clinching games, to wild card games, to NLDS games, to NLCS games, and even World Series games.
There's no doubt Zack Wheeler has given it all to the Phillies, and it's almost time for Wheeler to get himself another contract. For the Phillies, the hope is that they can get the deal done in Spring Training. Baseball season is right around the corner, so it's going to be interesting to see if the Phillies and Zack Wheeler can get an extension done, and what the contract will be.
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