Phillies and Zack Wheeler: A Done Deal

Wow, okay, looks like the Zack Wheeler rumor from this morning has turned into a done deal:

Right-hander Zack Wheeler and the Philadelphia Phillies are in agreement on a five-year deal worth more than $100 million, sources tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 4, 2019

Jim Salisbury confirming:

Confirming @MarcCarig Phillies get Zack Wheeler. Five years just under 120mill

— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) December 4, 2019

Here’s what Carig wrote in his tweet:

The Phillies have reached an agreement with Zack Wheeler, sources tell @TheAthletic.The ex-Met stays in the NL East, and close to New Jersey, where Wheeler’s wife is from.

The Phils needed pitching and they got a pitcher. Need a lefty now, because Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Jake Arrieta, and Zach Eflin are all right handers. Bumgarner next? We’ll see.

Good stat here from Breen:

97+ mph pitches thrown over last two seasons:
Zack Wheeler – 1,111
Phillies starters – 40

— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) December 4, 2019

Edit:

The Crossing Broad baseball politburo has provided some stats for me to share –

3.77 ERA lifetime with a 1.29 WHIP…. that’s a decent No. 3 guy
not a strikeout pitcher and wasn’t great against lefties last year (.275/.341/.775)
he’s a product of pitching in Citi Field, which is pitcher friendly.
2019 Home games: 1.13 WHIP
2019 Road games: 1.39 WHIP

Teams attack him successfully early in counts:

Batters vs. Wheeler on 0-0 count: .340/.327/.822
Batters vs. Wheeler on 1-0 count: .444/.444/1.056
Batters vs. Wheeler on 0-1 count: .373/.382/.915

He was really good with two strikes… which means he’s got ‘out’ pitches. But his early stuff is is hittable.

(And here’s what Bob shared this morning) –

He has elite fastball velocity and has quelled early career injury concerns after making 60 starts over the past two seasons. He struggled early in 2019 but was really good after the All Star break this season – 2.83 ERA in 13 starts. One strange thing with him is that despite the big fastball he strikes out less than a batter per inning, but opponents have only hit .242 against him since the start of last season and his peripheral numbers suggest his numbers aren’t a product of luck. He also does a good job of getting ground ball contact, finishing 18th (44.2) in 2018 and 23rd (43.2) in 2019 among qualified NL starters.

There you have it.

Edit 2:

Apparently his wife is from NJ and Wheeler wanted to remain in the area:

#WhiteSox’s offer to Wheeler was for MORE than the $118M he will receive from the #Phillies, sources tell The Athletic. As @MarcCarig said, Wheeler’s wife is from New Jersey, and that proximity was an important consideration in his decision.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 4, 2019