Philadelphia Phillies star Zack Wheeler has been diagnosed with a blood clot in his pitching arm.
Dave Dombrowski, the president of baseball operations for the Phillies, said after a 2-0 loss at Washington that Wheeler, who is now on the injured list, had been diagnosed with a ‘right upper extremity blood clot.’
‘There’s not a lot that we can say on it at this time,’ said Dombrowski, who commended doctors for finding the clot. ‘It could have been a much more trying situation than it is.’
Phillies head athletic trainer Paul Buchheit said Wheeler had been feeling better after some right shoulder soreness caused him to push back a start earlier this month. But that changed Friday.
‘He felt a little heaviness,’ Buchheit said. ‘So, the doctors here were great in helping to diagnose and expedite that diagnosis this morning.’
Buchheit said he didn´t think Wheeler´s present condition had anything to do with his previous stiffness. He said there is a wide variety of treatments available, but he declined to get into specifics.
Phillies star Zack Wheeler has been ruled out indefinitely with a blood clot in his pitching arm
Wheeler, who made his third All-Star team last month, has thrown at least 192 innings in three of the previous four seasons
Dombrowski said Wheeler would be evaluated further in Philadelphia.
Wheeler pitched for the NL East leaders on Friday and was limited to five innings for the second consecutive start. The right-hander allowed two runs and four hits at Washington.
The 35-year-old Wheeler, who made his third All-Star team last month, has a major league-high 195 strikeouts in 149 2/3 innings. He has thrown at least 192 innings in three of the previous four seasons.
Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber said it was most important to get Wheeler back healthy.
‘It´s a scary situation, right? … Just want to get him back in here and hear from him,’ Schwarber said. ‘Hopefully it´s not going to be too serious. Get him in here and get him healthy.
‘You know, baseball is baseball, and when it comes to someone´s health like that, we need him healthy first. You know, he´s got a family, so we want to get him feeling good for them and get him back to speed whenever we can.’
